What is Love?

It seems like there are always people who are asking what love is or if it is real. Well, I’m here to tell you that love is very real, but it doesn’t always come in the fairy tale form that we imagine.

Love isn’t a magical first kiss at sunset. Love isn’t someone who buys you a diamond ring. Love isn’t even the person who brings you flowers and actually comes to the door and knocks instead of texting to say that they have arrived. Frankly put, I’m tired of seeing countless articles and blog posts about how girls should only date guys who open the door every time, brings her flowers each week, jumps over ten hurdles, wrangles three wild hippos, perfectly lands a triple salchow, finds a cure for cancer, and achieves world peace.

I’ve found that often love isn’t romantic or swoon-worthy. To me, love often shows itself in the most subtle and unexpected ways. Real love doesn’t need to be showy because it doesn’t ask to be praised or celebrated. Kind acts for a significant other are physical manifestations of the love that we have for them. When you truly love someone, you don’t do things for them because you have to or because you want praise. You do things for them because you care about them and want to help them out however possible. Of course, I’m not saying that it’s okay to ignore what your loved ones do for you; it is always a good idea to show that you appreciate them and the things that they do for you, but I am saying that their motivation for being kind and thoughtful should be nothing more than the fact that they love you.

I have been lucky enough to experience true love in the past nine months of my life while I have been with my fantastic boyfriend. Through my relationship with him, I have learned what true love is:

• 2 am phone calls just because you had a nightmare
• free reign over the radio even though he hates country, pop, most anything but classic rock
• 11:30 pm rides to get slurpees because you have a sore throat
• giggling on the couch together until you both have tears rolling down your cheeks
• spending Valentine’s Day weekend in the apartment while he brings you orange juice and medicine because you have a cold and strep throat

So, my three blog followers, I want to challenge you this week to reflect on what love is to you. If you have read this and find yourself thinking that your significant other always has some other motivation behind kind acts except loving you, I want to challenge you to find someone who loves you and appreciates you just because they see how amazing you are and not because they want something. You deserve someone who would give anything to make your life better. I can promise you that I understand. Sometimes you are in relationships that aren’t right but stay because you feel like you are unworthy of a greater love. I have been there. It is hard to break out of the negative situation and feel vulnerable. It is so difficult to be alone and wait for someone else to come along, but I can promise you that there is someone out there who will treat you with more love and respect than you have ever known before.

Feel love. Give love. Show love. Spread love.