The notion of love may just be one of the most intricate concepts one could ever attempt to describe. How is it that a four-letter word is able to possess such a powerful influence in our world? Love can be purely romantic and thoroughly unconditional, existing between intimate relationships. It's that strange feeling one experiences in the pit of their stomach at the sight of someone special. It's the emotion that overcomes a mother as she finally bears her newborn child in her arms — in other words, love at first sight. Love is the foundation of reciprocated understanding, bond, respect, and appreciation.

There are people who are completely nonchalant on the whole love subject, perhaps because they've never fallen in love or never went through a serious heartbreak. Even though these are the two main thoughts that initially pop up in one's mind after hearing, "What is love?" I think of self-love. This underrated type of love doesn't cross the mind of many, and I'm not sure why.

Loving yourself has to do with understanding yourself, accepting all of your unique glows and flaws, and appreciating what you've grown to become. It is about knowing your values and your boundaries as a person. It is about being kind to yourself and taking care of your mind, your body, and your spirit. There's nothing wrong with this type of love; in fact, it's the greatest love of all. It doesn't make you conceited, and it certainly doesn't mean you're selfish. You should acknowledge the fact that you are worthy of love and, more importantly, you already are loved.

Self-love is the riddance of self-doubt; when one knows that they are worth it and that they are always good enough. Having this set, one is able to develop a stable relationship with another individual, free of skepticism, free of insecurity, free of worries and overthinking, free of inner negativity. These benefits justify the hidden truth that self-love is the absolute prerequisite to truly loving others. To give love to someone, you must first be able to have love in your heart and to have love, you must love yourself.

Simply put, you can only give with which you have. If one is discontented with the way they are, if one does not contain the bare minimum of love, what is there to give to someone else?

My initial definition of love, that it is the foundation of mutual bond, understanding, and appreciation, still stands. It is inclusive of the infinite varieties of love that exists in the minds of our people; romantic and sexual love, family love, friendly love, love for our pets, love for our personal interests, and the most underestimated, yet most essential love of all, self-love.

I aspire to live in a time where human beings pay more mind to their true self, to grow and learn to have faith and pride in themselves, never resorting to putting themselves down to bring another up. I hope people will learn that valuing yourself will enable you to be more genuinely loving towards others, and provide you with a peace of mind that cannot be easily undermined by outside opinions.