I remember when I was growing up, I would walk down the hallways of my small high school and see couples kissing in the stereotypical ‘couples corner,’ telling each other how much they love each other, even though they were just going to see each other in 45 minutes after their classes ended. They would then do the same exact thing. “Love you, see you after class,” were the words that these couples muttered to each other, day after day in the halls. A short week or two into dating someone, you hear couples telling each other how much they’re ‘in love’ and how they love their new boyfriend or girlfriend ‘so much.’
Today, hardly any of those couples kissing in ‘couples corner’ from high school are still together. I still question, does anyone really treasurer the words ‘I love you’ anymore? I understand that feelings are feelings. When you are with someone significant, the words come out. You can fall head over heels for someone in an instant. What is society today declaring the definition of ‘I love you?'
While I was in high school, I never really ‘dated’ anyone. I stuck to my group of friends. I focused on school, getting good grades, and I never really broke out of my shell. Shortly after I graduated, I met my now-boyfriend and we began dating. When things started to get serious between us, obviously the words ‘I love you,’ and these sorts of feelings came up. People would ask me, “Well, do you love him?” and they would be shocked that I hadn’t told him yet.
I was scared to face how I felt; the words ‘I love you’ mean a lot when you tell it to someone for the first time, or anytime for that matter. Once you say ‘I love you’ to someone, it opens your heart up times 1000, bringing in room for heartache and heartbreak if you aren’t opening yourself up to the right person. ‘I love you’ means more than bringing you home your favorite take-out food and you respond with ‘Oh my god I love you.’ The words ‘I love you’ mean that I see a part of my future with you. I want to see where this relationship goes and I am emotionally invested in how you make me feel. It means that this is more than a little crush. I see a part of myself in you. I want you to feel the same about me. I remember being so afraid of how I felt, just because I never knew what loving someone else like that really felt like. Now, a year and a half later, I don’t regret saying these words in the least bit.
Nowadays, I feel like couples throw these words around like it’s nothing. I feel like people forget exactly what these ‘3 little words’ mean. Saying this to someone shouldn’t be forced or pushed. I feel like I got lucky by finding someone so great that I know that I love. But, when I said these words, I knew that I saw a future with my boyfriend and wanted a commitment with him. Many younger couples throw around these words like they are ‘required’ to say, or it has to be said sooner rather than later. I didn’t tell the first boy that I talked to that I loved him; I saved it for someone important that deserved to hear me say it to them.
