When I was little, I knew love was bringing my mom a flower in from the garden and seeing her smile. I knew love was going fishing with my grandfather early on Sunday morning in my little boots and Scooby Doo life jacket. I knew love was sitting on the wall at the playground and talking to the kids who didn’t have a lot of people to talk to. I thought I knew what love was.

When I was little, I knew what hate was, too. I knew hate was the mean words kids would shout at me on the bus when the bus driver wasn’t paying attention. I knew hate was stealing your sibling’s favorite toys and pretending not to know about it while they cried. I knew hate was cold, it was mean, it was hurtful. I thought this was all hate was.

Today, hate has evolved as I have grown. I no longer look at the world through rose-colored lenses. Instead, I brace myself for impact every time I scroll through my favorite news app. When someone says “Oh did you hear about…” I often end up hearing about the latest tragedy.

Hate has evolved from kicking someone in the shins at recess to shooting up a school full of children. Hate has gone from ignoring the people you don’t like to assaulting them behind a dumpster while they are unconscious. This is how hate has evolved as I have grown up.

Yes, these things happened before I was old enough to understand them, but from the reactions of those around me who are much older and experienced, it has gotten worse. Hate has evolved.

The question is, how do we combat hate?

Love has to evolve as well.

Love knows no boundaries, love knows no rules, love accepts no limits. Love is endless, it is always present, and it is always yours to have.

In order to win this battle against the hate seeping into our society, we have to let love in, and we have to let love win. Be compassionate toward your friends and neighbors, forgive the grudges you’ve been holding for years, let go of the anxieties and doubts you have toward people you’ve never really liked. Can they really be all that bad?

Is my soul different than those who have a different color skin? Do we not breathe the same air if we practice different religions? Are our lips different whether we kiss boys, or girls, or both, or no one at all? Does my sex determine whether I am competent and able to do everything the other sex does? And what if I want to change my sex, does that make me less worthy as a human being?

No. We have the same souls, we breathe the same air, we kiss the same, we live the same. We may have different thoughts, opinions, identities and lives; but we are all human. It’s time we all start to think that way.

Love is love is love is love is love. Let love win, always.