Love

What is love anyway? There are many movies, books, and songs based solely on that four letter word. It is definitely a powerful, meaningful word…so precious, yet so often misused in society. Despite the incredible strength that one word holds, many people throw it around like it is nothing.1

Up until the 6th grade, I was brought up to believe that love was the beautiful gift shared between man and woman. My sister and I lived a sheltered life, unexposed to anything my parents didn’t approve of. One day when I was in the 4th grade, I caught my parents watching the news. The story was about same sex marriages. I had never seen, much less heard of anything like it. My jaw literally fell to the floor, and I turned to my sister, sharing a look of utter disgust. I watched as the news showed two men sharing a kiss as they were married, and I remember thinking, “what in the world is wrong with these people?” My mind was completely sealed off to the idea that two men or two women could love each other enough to want to get married. In my mind, it was simply immoral.2

I was halfway through the sixth grade school year, when I caught a promo of a show called Degrassi, a show about Canadian students dealing with the obstacles that come with being a teenager. In the promo, a character named Marco was near tears as he admitted to his friend named Spinner that he was gay. I was intrigued by how torn Marco appeared, and I was curious as to how his friend reacted. Shortly after I watched the promo, I started watching the actual show, and one of my favorite storylines instantly became Marco’s struggle to come to terms with his sexual orientation. I watched him struggle with his identity as a person, as he worked up the courage to come out to his friends and family. Marco became my favorite character on the show, not only because he was gay, but because he was smart, funny, adorable, and an all around good friend. He was always ready and willing to be there for any of his friends, if ever necessary. 3

The revelation didn’t happen in one day, or even overnight. It happened over the course of one year. One day, I was lying on my bed, and I realized something remarkable had taken place inside me—a change in moral views, a newfound openness to differences. Being gay doesn’t sum up who you are as a person. You don’t choose to be gay any more than you choose to be straight, or who your family is. It is all something that occurs naturally, without your awareness the moment you’re born.4

In reality, you can’t help who you fall in love with, and sometimes, love doesn’t even have anything to do with being gay or straight. Sometimes, love has everything to do with finding all the qualities you could ever want in one single person. Love holds no boundaries, which is one of the most beautiful things about it.5

What is love, exactly, you ask? I now believe that love is having arguments over trivial matters and still feeling every bit as strongly for that person as before. Love is sharing laughter over every little thing until you’re doubled over, clutching your stomach and wiping away each other’s tears. Love is taking care of each other when one is sick, even if there’s a chance you’ll get sick as well. Love is taking one look in their eyes and thinking, “I want to be with you forever, even if I don’t know how we’ll get there.” Love is taking one look at the ring on your finger and knowing that you carry a part of that person wherever you go. And I now believe that the right to love should not be taken away from anyone, no matter what.6