This I Believe

Love is defined as a “profoundly tender, passionate affection for another person.” But to me, love is more. Love is one of the most important things in my life, and it is the most profound of all emotions. When I grow old and I have lived most of my life, I will have based my life on not how much money I have made, or how big my house is, but by how many people I have loved and been loved by. I hope that I will have loved myself, my family, my friends, the world, and hopefully a husband. Loving yourself and who you are is very important at this stage in life. In a world full of uncertainty, comparison and pressure, teenage girls need to realize how important it is to be yourself and to embrace what you have been given.

Everyday I make decisions honoring the love and respect I have for myself. I realize that the goal of being stick-skinny is unachievable and could be deadly. I exercise enough by playing soccer to know that I am pretty healthy and normally fit. Although I haven’t encountered this, there are the pressures of drugs and alcohol. But, I know what I want, and I want to take care of my body, so I don’t do it. Everyday I make a conscious decision to do what’s right for me. I eat enough food to fill me up; not to starve me or stuff me, and I don’t do drugs or drink alcohol. I do love myself and I’m going to be grateful for every day I have on this earth,; because I know I won’t live forever.

But it’s not enough to just love yourself. It is important to love others and to express this love everyday. I believe love is the strongest bond someone can share with another person. It is everlasting and is what keeps someone’s memory alive even after they’re dead. Fortunately, I have never lost someone I love. However, 2 years ago, a close family friend lost her husband to a stroke. He was an amazing father and husband, and his death was so sudden. I never realized how close his relationship with his wife was, and how much love they had for each other until he died. She was absolutely devastated when he passed away; but what kept her moving forward and hoping for the best was her memory of him, and their love for each other. The bond two people can have and what love they can share is amazing, but I wouldn’t have ever realized the enormity of it until now.

Love is a wonderful feeling and although it is sometimes masked in our society by all the violence; it is still there and we should embrace it. It’s how I live my life everyday and I hope people realize how valuable it is.