What Is Love?

In a society where happily ever afters are the endings to Hollywood movies and expressions such as “I just LOVE your earrings/dress/purse/etc.” are commonplace, how can our youth NOT be affected by the constant media storm of love and what it should entail? Most romance movies follow the same scheme: guy gets girl, guy loses girl, guy gets girl back (or vice versa for the ladies) and then they live happily. We are also told that true love is obtainable and that we will know it the moment we lay eyes on it. Does that ring a bell in ANYONE’S reality?

However, most of these movies roll the credits just as the couple says “I do” or rides off into the sunset. What happens afterwards? Sure, they’re soulmates and will presumably always be together. But, in real life, things can change. Couples bicker, argue, become passive in their relationship. And this is real love. Love that has weathered the storms of life. A love that is imperfect with a partner that is equally imperfect and, yet, these are the couples and situations we rarely see on the big screen.

This desensitization to love has become a problem in our society so much so that we use “love” in everyday language without giving a second thought to what it actually means. The next time you say that you love pizza or college or that popular song on the radio, take a moment to think about what that love really means.