Naive but not discouraged: What is love?

What is love?

This is a question I have been speculating for a few weeks, and I think it's time for me to share my thoughts. Ordinarily this is something I would talk about around Valentine's Day, but that's a different subject all together.

So what is love?

Depending on the setting, love can mean very different things.

For example, when speaking in the American dialect of English (yes, we don't just speak English, but a different dialect all together), love can be a symbol of your affection for another person, a great interest or pleasure in something, or (my personal favorite because I find it hilarious) a formula for ending a letter.

Travel to the squash or tennis court, and there's a completely different story. In the realm of sports, love can be used synonimously for the word zero when announcing the score.

However, lets focus on love as an emotion, not as a digit.

Love can be expressed in a multitude of ways, including gift giving, thoughtful activities, or something as simple as devoting one's time and attention to their significant other. It can also be used as a justification for why you choose to protect someone.

Personally, one of the greatest expressions of love I know is being able to rely on someone completely, whether it's for emotional support or trusting them with your darkest secrets, without worrying about negative repercussions.

This amorphous thing we know as love is one of the most complicated emotions, and it can control our entire world. One moment you can be infuriated with another person, and the next you can find yet another reason to fall in love with them all over again.

I swear, sometimes it is like emotional whiplash.

As confusing as it can be to be in love with another person, it's something I wouldn't trade for anything in the world.

Falling in love with someone is one of the greatest experiences I have ever known, and I am beyond thrilled that it happened.