To me, love is one of the greatest things in this world. I'm not very liberal with my usage of it either. For example, I love chai tea, but not as much as I love my mom for very obvious reasons. Then again, maybe I should think about it. I do not really "love" chai tea. I enjoy it, and it does make me happy, but I do not truly love it. When I say that I love a tangible thing, most people are able to decipher that what I really mean is that I like it a lot. Therefore, it is okay for me to exaggerate my feelings toward it. What I would really like to talk about today is love in regards to having a significant other, and what that means to me at this particular point in my life. I've already written an article about him, and most of you who know me in real life are aware that I have a boyfriend. We started dating when we were both in high school, and are currently celebrating a year of fourths together! By this, I mean that this Christmas will be the fourth one we have spent together etc. Of course, because we met when I was only 16 and he was 17, we have both changed and our relationship has changed tremendously throughout the years. Sometimes it can be pretty embarrassing that we met when we were young, in that Adam knew me pretty well when I was still in the midst of being an angsty teenager, which he of course still teases me about to this day. With that aside, it has been really wonderful that we have somewhat grown up together and been able to develop a shared set of values. Has it been easy? Heck no! We disagree on things from time to time, as two independent people sometimes will. Sometimes we are not happy with each other, which is hard, but it is where we get the most opportunity to grow as individuals and closer together. I wouldn't change even one thing, not the trials, and not the hardships. In the past few weeks, I have really stood back and looked at our relationship. I see so much love that it is almost overwhelming (but in a great way). I will be the first person to not brag about things that go well, instead choosing on recognizing it, but then moving on to things that need to be improved (and I mean this in any area of my life, from homework to baking). When I truly think about it, even the areas that seem mundane at the time still equate to love. Like when we go to Target, and I ask the worker where the item we cannot find is. This seems small, but it is actually something that my boyfriend absolutely hates to do, and although I do not like to do it either, I will if it makes his life easier. And why do I want to make his life easier? Because I love him! Another example is when I ask my boyfriend to rub my feet. He absolutely cannot stand rubbing my feet! And sometimes he says no, but most of the time (and this is probably an every other day occurrence) he does it anyway. I am assuming he does this because he knows that my feet hurt, and he wants to show me that he appreciates me. I'm sure his feet hurt too, but he absolutely never asks for reciprocation. Some other things that we do? We are both typically on the go everyday, and only have time to eat dinner together and do a little bit of homework alongside one another in the evening (the weekends we are inseparable, but Monday-Thursday is a different story). But every now and again, one of us will get out of class early or a meeting will get cancelled. When this happens, we always try to meet up for the five minutes or so. We normally hug, update one another on the happenings in our day and usually share a laugh about something. We also know when to give the other person space. For instance, when he has a lot of homework, I know that we should go our separate ways for the night because sometimes we goof off and don't get our work done. And when I am upset about something small (something dumb, like a pimple) he knows to acknowledge it briefly, and then to move on and let me work it out on my own. We do these things for another, because we have come to learn what makes the other person tick. I see a lot of love in that respect. Another thing we have taken to saying lately is "You're my best friend!" We say this quite a bit, and to us it really means something. By saying this, we are admitting our loyalty and commitment to one another. On a lighter note, we are referencing that we are good pals. Sometimes I think of our relationship as though we are two small children, because that is how lighthearted and fun we make even the more serious moments in life. We work together to overcome struggles, and we are always there for each other. But in addition to the serious stuff, we really just love to laugh and tell stories and tease one another. We have so much fun and we work well together, and I really just love our love! I am sorry for how mushy this probably is to read, but it has been something that has been making me smile a lot lately. I hope everybody can feel a love from something (even if it isn't a significant other) that makes them grin as much as I do