Monday, November 3, 2008
I love you?
Since the word love is misused all the time, how are we supposed to know when someone really means it? Is it in their eyes? Is it heard in the tone of their voice? Or is it seen in their body language? Even if these characteristics give away the truth, to some it may not feel special anymore. The fact that even as college students we overuse this word, it has started to take away the true meaning. At least for me it has. It’s hard to believe that after spending one night with me a girl can say, “ Oh my God you’re totally my best friend I love you”. Love doesn’t just cover the romantic side for there is the bond between friendships that can define love as well. But if you hear a person throw the word out to anyone he or she is with, how can you distinguish between the truth and the lies? What happens when you really like someone and you want that four letter word to come at a special time but instead it slips out in a sentence like “ id still love you if you were fat”? There may be different meanings to the word love that I am just unaware of, but when I hear love I no longer classify it as something meaningful. This may be dramatic but seriously why has all the emotion from this word drained out like the bottom of a swimming pool? I believe it has to do with the present generation of teens that has completely eradicated the passion love is supposed to generate between two human beings. Its’ not the teenagers fault that they overuse love, but that media allows everything to be so accessible these days that nothing has a special meaning. This generation is constantly exposed to love as being something sexual and physical it’s hard for teens to see it as a sentimental feeling. Paris Hiltons’ famous saying, “Loves it” has caused people to mock Paris, and the word love is just being thrown all around in the wrong way. I guess the point I’m trying to reach is how do we know when to take the word love seriously? Maybe people don't really understand the meaning till they go through it, or until they loose it, but it should never be left that late. The ideal situation would be for people to just not say something unless they really mean it, or understand why they are saying it. Is that impossible because we aren't perfect, am i asking too much?
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3 comments:
I completely agree and can relate to this problem.
"I love you" is said too often by "friends" who I barely know, and often times boyfriends who I've known for only a few months. I believe when you love someone, you're willing to forgive, forget, not be jealous of, do anything for, and put yourself last in any circumstance, solely for that person. Until you can answer yes, without any hesitation, to all of these questions, the phrase "I love you" should not be used.
I also believe that it is clear that in our culture the words "I love you" are extremely overused. I agree with wareagle's statement that "when you love someone, you're willing to forgive, forget, not be jealous of, do anything for, and put yourself last in any circumstance, solely for that person." Love is something that is intangible. My dad always says to me, "There is no one that will ever love you more than your parents, and someday you will know that and know how much I love you." I guess right now I don't know it exactly. One thing I do know though is that you can't love someone until you can trust them completely. When you're with someone you love you shouldn't need words to fill the air, and sometimes it is best if you can find comfort in being with them in silence. I realized this, because although my dog, Adelaide, can't talk, I know that she loves me. She can lay down next to me when I'm going to bed, snuggle up with her head on my pillow and her body under my covers, and relax. She can trust me without talking, and that, to me, shows love.
"I love you" is DEFNITELY overused... I feel that I am still more formal and don't say it too often, but I still catch myself throwing it in a final sentence when saying goodbye to someone. At times, I feel awkward and obliged to say, "I love you too" when someone says, "I love you" to me.
Saying the phrase "I love you" seems to be the new way to tell someone that you like them as a good friend so when it comes time to say those three important words to a special someone, the significance of the three words seems to be almost lost. If we all stop saying those three words all the time, maybe the meaning will come back to them.
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