The idea of love is overwhelming really. It's an unimaginable concept--the fact that everybody in the history of the world has "loved" someone deeply at some point in their lives. It's something that every single human experiences because it's ingrained into the evolution of life.

Love has a way of shaping people into who they become. It molds their perspectives and attitudes towards life based on how they've experienced it. People usually set their expectations for love based on what they've gone through, and a lot of us don't even realize that because these assumptions come so naturally to us.

Accordingly, pop culture and social media flourish off the promotion that love can be found in the most uncertain circumstances, no matter where we find ourselves or with whom. It comes when you least expect it right?

We all know the movies--the ones where love is found for the girl that's been single for so long that she doesn't believe it's happening to her, and for a lot of us, this hits home. It leaves us feeling a little bitter that this girl found "the one" after years of being single, but it gives us hope that there's someone out there for the rest of us. However, deep down, at some point or another a lot of us are full of doubt that the unexpected, life-altering kind of love we are holding out for will eventually find us.

It's self-fish really--to put love in box. I've only begun to understand how myself and the rest of the world conforms grotesquely to the idea that love is set in its ways.

It wasn't until after twenty years of living that I began to perceive what love really is, and that's due to the precious combination of the people I've met and the things I've experienced.

So what really is love?

It's a noun in which people come together in the place that makes them hold their best. It's an action verb that makes people feel unquestionably accepted but only if they are "loved" well. It's an adverb that advocates beauty and exquisiteness beyond the physical realm--one of the heart and of the spirit.

Thus, this is what I believe:

I believe that everybody is worthy of love even if they don't think so.

I believe that the simplest forms of love can reach the human spirit no matter where they've been.

I believe that people recognize love even when we feel like our efforts haven't reached anyone.

I believe that the best we can do for anyone is to simply love them for who they are.

I know. That sounds impossible. I'll admit.

I'm human, and I have made so many mistakes in my relationships and with strangers that these four simple statements of recognition don't seem plausible. I've failed to make others feel loved so many times that it hurts my heart to even think about it.

But guys, it's not fair to put our past in a box either. There is so much room for growth that we need to be open to new things.

I am not saying that I am perfect at loving others nor will I ever be. But, at this point in time, I can say that I am trying to love others better. I always will be.

Loving well comes with knowing yourself and getting to know others. I know that now. Understanding that the concept to loving well starts with loving and respecting yourself first is the most important lesson I've ever had to learn--for it has opened the door to so much more.

So let's love and love well.