In the midst of a society that has turned the concept of love into a rare treasure whipped up and fantasized by Hollywood directors looking to make a profit, I was recently reminded of what love truly looks like in real life. My grandparents just celebrated their fiftieth wedding anniversary, a feat only a small percentage of people accomplish every year. The fact that they’ve stuck together for so long stands as a testament to the power of true love. It obviously wasn’t all chocolates and roses—they undoubtedly had to put in effort. But their commitment to each other, to their family, and to love proves to me that love still exists, no matter how out of grasp it may seem sometimes.
Modern culture today tends to send the message that love is inevitably unattainable. From the looming threat that almost half of all marriages end in divorce to a dating culture that has transformed into a hookup frenzy, people are weary that real love is simply a thing of the past. But after witnessing both of my grandparents not only tolerating but enjoying each other after fifty years together, it gives me hope that not all love stories end in a storm.
On both sides of my family, my grandparents have expressed their love in different ways every day. While the hand holding may have stopped, they choose to channel their affection through cheering on their grandkids’ at baseball games or by embarking on trips with the whole family. The best memories I have of my grandparents together come from experiences I’ve shared with them. I can tell that as I grew older and the anniversary year just kept growing, my grandparents’ love only grew stronger. They poured their love into each other by spending time with the entire family.
I’ve been lucky enough to grow up around two sets of amazing grandparents who never cease to amaze me. They’ve taught me endless life lessons about everything under the moon that have become priceless pieces that built my most basic core values. They’ve taught me to see the world with forgiveness. They’ve taught me how to come out of my shell and stand with shoulders back, head held high, a smile on my face. But the most important thing I’ve ever learned from them in how to love deeply and unquestionably. They’ve all laid the foundation for what being in love should look like—and more importantly, how to make it last. And while our generation seems to be constantly caught up in a hurried race to catch a partner, I’ve finally realized one of love’s biggest battles: it shouldn’t be a forced hunt where desperation leads the way and engineers a situation where you settle for less than you deserve. Love is about authenticity, finding what’s real and letting it happen on its own. You can’t search for it. It will find you naturally when it’s meant to be. And once it finds you, you finally can experience with complete sureness of love’s existence; just take it from my grandparents.
