Without love what would life be like? Think about it, millions of people say, "I love you." We celebrate love on Valentine's Day, but what is love? Some people say that in order to be in love with someone you have to have had sex with that person. Or that you can't be in love with the same sex. Someone that you're in love with might ask you to do something that you don't want to do in order to prove your love. When you love another person, do you ask them to "sacrifice a part of themselves in the name of that love" (Bahr, 1232)? No. All these statements are not what love is. Sex is not love and love is not sex. Love can be between the same sexes, and you sure don't ever have to prove something to show you're in love.So, again, what is love? "A wise man once said that love is a wonderful thing" (Mackey, 123). The origin of the word is probably the most logical place to start. As with many words in the English language, love is a derivative of a Latin word, which I am not sure of, but I would say, "causemajoraproblemus" which would mean, "You're miserable when you got it and miserable when you don't." What I do know is the word was created to explain the "biological phenomenon that existed when certain individuals came into contact with each other and either remained together or went about their lives separately" (Cancian, 22). Having sex with someone shouldn't be considered as love in this case. Regardless of the outcome, the relationship usually has characteristic of throat lumps, knotted stomachs, weak knees, temporary loss of language, sweaty palms, dizziness, sneezing, and occasional nausea.Oxford English Dictionary defines the term love as, "that disposition or state of feeling with regard to a person which (arising from recognition of attractive qualities, from instincts of natural relationship, or from sympathy) manifests itself in solicitude for the welfare of the object, and usually also in delight in his or her presence and desire for his or her approval; warm affection, attachment." In short, love can be defined as a strong liking for someone or something. You could have a love for things such as food, music, sports or your new car. For some, love could be a great counterpart to late, evening thunder storms on hot July nights or cold, wet sand between bare toes. Others love money, and some even love the feeling of riding a roller coaster. I, myself, love the feeling of that adrenaline rush once the roller coaster takes off. But, the strongest love comes from the love of another person, such as a sibling, friend, or even a neighbor.Love is affectionate feelings for different people including husband, wife, children, friends, co-workers, and God. However, the love for each of these is completely different. Various types of love exist. Love is an intense feeling of affection, an emotion and even affects the way a person acts. Love can be romantic or it can be described as lust. One type of love that we all might have experienced in our...
