What does love mean to you? As a college student, I have come to realize that the so called “L word” is what every girl dreams of but yet every guy fears. Our whole life we are surrounded by love, surrounded by fairy-tales, but love just may be the hardest actual word to define.

Webster’s Dictionary states that love is a "strong affection for another arising out of kinship or personal ties."

The Bible says, "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres." (1 Corinthians 13:4-7)

Everyone at different ages and different phases of their life can give you a definition of love, but everyone's definition will be different based off of their own experiences, their age, and even where they come from. I asked a total of 15 people what love meant to them, and if they could define love, what would they say? Of the 15 people I asked, only the eight below responded; the other seven people told me that they did not know what love was.These were their responses:

5-year-old boy: "My mom."

17-year-old boy: "It is the feeling that you would do anything for a person no matter what."

19-year-old boy: "Love is caring about someone above all their flaws, and being willing to do anything for them no matter what."

21-year-old girl: "Love is the feeling when you care so much about someone that you would do anything for them. Their feelings become your feelings, their needs become more important than your own, and being around that special someone becomes a necessity."

21-year-old male: "I believe love comes in many forms but is best described as the inability to live without someone you care for deeply and romantically."

24-year-old male: "When I think of true love, I think of it as being unconditional meaning that you would do anything and everything for that person. Your heart just over flows with happiness when you hear from them and they make you the happiest person alive."

43-year-old female: "Love is unconditional. No matter what happens I'll always love them, my husband, my children, my family."

56-year-old female: "Love is being with your best friend, knowing you have someone you can trust and depend on."

My definition of love I have learned from my family members. Love is much more than just a word you throw around. Love is knowing that you could have the worst day of your life and just a simple conversation with that person could cheer you up. Love is staying with each other through the good, the bad, and the ugly. Love is working through your differences and making compromises so that the relationship works better for the both of you. Love is having your best friend by your side and knowing you can depend on them for anything and everything. Love is not giving up when things get tough or you get in an argument, it's about fighting through the argument with good communication, and making the relationship work. Love is knowing you would do absolutely anything for that person and their happiness is your happiness.

My definition of love is based off of my grandparents' and parents' relationships. My grandparents were together for over 60 years, where my parents have been together for almost 37 years. In the many years that they have been together, I'm sure there has been some awful times where they believed there was no hope to even be together anymore, but they did what any great couple would do, and they somehow made it work. In 2016, you don't see many couples or relationships that stay together that long, where most just give up the second there is a disagreement. I hope one day I can find the type of love that meets my definition.

Love is a commitment to going above and beyond for another person. Love is the feeling and emotion that everyone looks for their whole life, but yet so many people are scared to death of. We are all on this crazy ride together in life, searching for just what exactly is this love thing. So if you could define love, what would be your definition?