What is love? by Todd

What is love? by Todd - June 2014 Scholarship Essay

If I were to write a book it would be about love, something that is loosely defined by society depending on individuals and their experiences. The reason being is to share my thoughts and opinions about love hoping that it could spark ideas in others, to think about what they have and to appreciate it before it is gone. Love, a four letter word that I believe carries the most weight when it comes to emotions.

Love can be the greatest feeling in the entire world, something simply incredible, but love can also be the worst feeling you have ever felt, like a knife through the heart. Love is crazy, when something is broken you want to fix it and put it back together. People build these walls around themselves to protect them from being hurt by love. Nobody wants to be hurt, but sometimes it’s the inevitable. What is love, can we even gather a definition for it because of the variations of love and the feelings that come along with it?

Love and sacrifice go hand in hand. Without sacrifice what is love? When you are in love with someone you are willing to do anything for them. You know you want nothing more than to see them happy, to see them smile. Love is when you are willing to die for that person. For the people we love we all sacrifice things.
Love and distance is also a greater aspect. No matter where the person you love is in the world, you still love them. Distance means nothing when someone you love means so much. Distance is hard, not being able to see someone for various periods of time is an obstacle in the relationship, but if you are truly in love it is something easily accomplished. Every moment you spend with that person becomes more intimate when you are together because you know sooner or later they will be gone, back home. The next moment you see the one you love after a long time period without seeing them is a feeling indescribable, a feeling of happiness that overtakes your entire body.

Humanity is nothing but this constant search for lost intimacy. Everyone is searching for intimacy in something whether it is within one another or within the tool or object. Love has many variations. You love your family, your pets, yourself, objects, and one another. Each one of those is individually a different type of love that we feel. Being in love with someone does not entail the same feeling that you have for the love of your mother or father, but it still entails some of the finer details. When you love your family you are still willing to sacrifice for them and would do anything for them so that they are happy and successful, but you also would do the same thing for the partner you are in love with. It shows the different variations of love and how they are all intertwined and each type of love has similar aspects and variations from one type of love to another.

You cannot put a definition to the word love. Every person is an individual and no two are the same, everyone feels differently about how they are in love. Love to someone can be a completely different feeling compared to another person’s feeling of love even when they are in the same room. Take a look around at the world, the number of people; each one has their own stories and their own past experiences. Past experiences effect how each individual feels about love. That is why we all build these walls trying to protect ourselves and not letting people into our lives, we are afraid to get hurt. As life goes on, the experiences that comes along with it, your viewpoint of love changes over time. Love is dependent on those previous experiences one has already had with love. Your past feelings are what these walls you put up are made from. If you have never been hurt by someone you loved then you don’t have many walls, but if you have been hurt than you have many walls. For those who have been hurt it is hard for them to trust others. It is hard to just let someone walk into your life and sweep you off your feet and gain all of your trust.

Hurt and love go together as well, it’s the little things that can add up to a multitude of things that hurt creating a kink in the relationship and affecting the love you feel towards that person. Once someone has been hurt enough they can fall out of love, some say it is impossible to fall out of love, but it’s truly not. Some of the memories you had with one of your loves may be never forgotten, but the truth is everyone is easily replaceable and life goes on. As much as you would hate to see the one you love go; it could be for the better. Love is all about experience. Some people in this world never get to experience love, it something mostly everyone desires, but what’s the perfect person if it’s not the perfect time? People that are in love are sometimes unappreciative and should take a step back and realize what they have before it’s gone.