Oh, love. You, bringer of heartbreak and euphoria, butterflies and demons. It’s something that we’re all capable of, this one feeling that gives us humans the potential to connect with souls anywhere in the world. A beautiful thought, isn’t it?
Although love is a universal feeling, it is felt in an infinite amount of ways and cannot be defined by one single definition. We define love differently based on our individual experiences. In honor of Valentine’s Day coming up, I asked 35 college students between ages 17-22 to “define love.” Here's what they said:
1. “Love is the most comfortable feeling in the world where you are not being judged and can be the best version of yourself without changing yourself.”
2. "Love is an indescribable feeling of complete acceptance and warmth. It truly can’t be described in words but once you have felt it then you truly know what it is. To be in love with another is to be yourself around them and feel as if you will never be judged nor criticized for simply being you. You can go to the people that you love and that love you and they will help you with whatever the issue is and still love you just as much regardless of what has occurred. You can’t help but want to be around them at all times because they make you the happiest person on earth.”
3. "Love is being able to let your guard down and be your true, authentic self in front of someone.”
4. "Care and support for something/someone regardless of their qualities.”
5. "Olaf in Frozen said it best. Love is the constant and ongoing choice to put someone else before yourself!”
6. "Investing in someone else’s life without getting anything in return. You have to be able to make sacrifices without rewards sometimes, because the love in itself should be enough of a gift. (Note: To care for someone is different than love. To care for someone is to feel the need to check in on their well-being every once in a while. But to love is to want to make sure that that person has sustained strength through the attention you provide them. Love is an investment, care can be dropped out of life quick.)”
7. "Unrelenting grace and care for another. Love always trusts, always hopes, always delights in truth, always protects, and always perseveres.”
8. "Trust.”
9. "Love is the strong feeling of attachment and desire for something, whether it be an object, activity or abstract notion.”
10. "Artsy and Cool.”
11. "Love is a sacrificial act where you put someone's needs over yours because they hold a special place in your heart.”
12. "Love is sacrifice. It’s putting the needs of another before your own, to serve another selflessly, humbly, deeply, and without bounds.”
13. "To trust someone more than you trust yourself.”
14. "Love has different meanings for all of us because love is indescribable and ever-changing. Love can make you happy, love can make you sad, love can make you change yourself in good and bad ways. In the end and most importantly, no matter who it is or what you are doing, I believe love can make you a better person because you have to sacrifice parts of yourself for the betterment of another.”
15. "Love is acknowledging someone else's heart and someone else's needs – but it doesn't stop there. Love pursues the heart, nurtures those needs, and bravely trades glamorous entitlement for gritty selflessness.”
16. "Love is comfort.”
17. "Love is when another person does not care about your flaws or imperfections, but rather embraces and celebrates you for who you are.”
18. "Love is knowing someone completely.”
19. "Love means always wanting the other person to be happy, even if that means you don't get to be.”
20. "Not being awake yet and someone wishing you all sorts of warm, fuzzy stuff via text or a bedside note.”
21. "Love is learning to love their favorite things because you love how their face lights up when they see them. It’s listening to them rant about the silliest things, and actually caring because you see how passionate they are about them. It’s learning to love the way they starfish on the bed in the middle of the night when you go to the bathroom and how crazy they look when they wake up.”
22. "Wanting another person to feel comfortable and putting their needs before your own.”
23. "Caring about someone more than you care about everyone else. Wanting to fight for them and protect them from the trials of the world. Wanting to prevent all sickness, worry and fear that they experience. Working to make sure they are fulfilled and satisfied on a daily basis. [Also,] despite the love that is inherent in a marriage, marriage is really just one big fat fight- my mother. ”
24. "A magical emotional bond.”
25. "Love is caring deeply for someone despite their flaws.”
26. "Love is fighting for your loved one, sacrifice, trust, honest. It’s the weirdest thing on Earth, but it’s something humans do the best. It’s rolling over at 4:30 A.M. when life is hell, seeing your person there, and knowing everything will be okay.”
27. "Love is like a fart. If you have to force it, it’s probably crap.”
28. "This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. - 1 John 3:16”
29. "To me, it's not something you can put into words – it's more of a feeling. In the same way that it would be hard to accurately explain what it is like to have a heart attack to someone who has never had one, it's hard to explain what love feels like. You can explain the symptoms of a heart attack (i.e. pain in the chest or dizziness) to someone who has never had one and you can give them the medical definition of a heart attack, but can someone who has never experienced it actually define it? I don't think so.”
30. "Love comes naturally but is a lot of work to maintain over time. But if you really treasure the love you have, and it's genuine, that work won't feel tiring or irritating.”
31. "Caring about something or anything.”
32. "My favorite definition of love that I’ve come across is ‘love looks like everything you’ve ever lost come back to you.’”
33. "To love another truly, we must accept them for who they are and not who we wish them to be."
34. "Letting your girlfriend eat your muffin even though you’re hungry!”
35. "Love is a beautiful fiction—the kind that you want to be true so badly that you make it so. Sometimes it’s happy, and it’s often bittersweet, but it’s the type of story that you read for the journey anyway.”
