For as long as I can remember, I have always believed that one of the greatest things a person could do is love, and do so unconditionally. I've come the point where I am now in love with the concept of love. I know that may sound crazy, but one of my main goals in life is to spread love through everything I do and everyone I meet.
This task has not proven to be easy. I have found you cannot be lazy and try to love; it has to be something that you actively participate in, not merely a word that is thrown around. Author Jill Savage said, "Immature love is a noun. A thing we long for. A feeling. An expectation of what some one will do for us.
"Mature love is verb. An action we take. A deci sion. A choice to do something for someone else. Love as a noun demands its own way. Love as a verb works to understand differences and is open to new ways of doing things. Love as a noun finds faults in others. Love as a verb gives grace and forgiveness. Love as a noun expects others to serve them. Love as a verb serves freely."
A fraternity brother and very good friend of mine Justin Wilkes really broke down his feelings about the hardships of love. He told me, "Matters of the heart and love are only as difficult as we make it. We are the ones who make it harder than it has to be. Love as it was made to be is unconditional, but we put so many conditions on love that we end up hurting and confusing ourselves."
I will probably never forget my friend's thoughts about love. His words really made me think deep ly about something I have been stirring around for the past few months; if you love someone, love them unconditionally, no matter if it is a romantic or platonic relationship. Don't hold back.
At the end of the day, if you really care and love someone, there should be no question in their mind about how you feel. Be sure to give oth ers their flowers now while they're still here, not when it is too late. This means that in order to re ally love, we have to be willing to make ourselves vulnerable. As hard as it may be due to some past experiences, we cannot be afraid to love.
With all of the craziness and confusion that is going on around us in the world and probably most of our personal lives, it seems the only stable thing we have to depend on or fall back on is — in my opinion — love. Your mileage could vary, but I know it has personally helped me through many problems as well as allow me to share a spe cial connection with friends, family and strangers alike.
Compassion for our fellow man and woman, as well as caring for their well-being, goes a long way. You can clearly see in our history where oth ers who believed in love made a significant differ ence in times of turmoil. Most notably, Dr. Martin Luther King during the Civil Rights movement, Mr. Paul Rusesabagina during the genocide kill ings in Rwanda or Mother Teresa and her mis sionary and charity work. All of these people were motivated by love. When driven by a force like this, the possibilities are limitless.
The funniest thing about love is that it is easy to identify but very hard to define. It's something you just feel, and you know when it is reciprocat ed. I can try and give you my definition of it. But what love is to me, may not be what it is to you.
While conversing with some of my friends, we tried to come up with ways people can show love. The answers varied from just being there for the people you love to openly proclaiming and ex pressing how you feel.
Personally, I believe that to show love you must be understanding and compassionate even if you find yourself in a tough or conflicting situation. To show love we must also be willing to sacrifice, and at times be very selfless.
You can find love in the friendships that you will gain during your time here at Longwood, or love in those same friends becoming family before you leave. You can sum it up as service to the whole, without seeking honor for thyself, or you can find it in discovering the power of you.
A definition that I personally hold true, along with what I stated before this, can be found in Cor inthians 13:4, which says, "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud." Love will sometimes hurt, but I guaran tee that it can get you through any tough moments and allow you to help others through theirs.
No matter what, no one should ever feel like they are unloved or alone. You would be surprised in how something as simple as a genuine smile or a sincere "I love you" will make someone's day.
We have all been blessed with great opportuni ties and the chance of seeing another day. Since we have been blessed, I encourage us all to make it our business of being a blessing to someone else by opening ourselves up and spreading positive vibes and love to the people we interact with. Make a friend, family member or even a stranger's day through love.
