The Power of Love
photo courtesy of Sarah Meadows and Claire Koltura
Erykah Cramer loves spending time with her family and friends.
September 26, 2019
Love, by definition, is an intense feeling of deep affection. Nonetheless, does one brief sentence have the emotional power to capture the indescribable essence of the word “love?” There are well over 7 billion human beings that coexist on this Earth, and to each and every one of these individuals, love has its own meaning; its own definition. That is the power of love.
In these days in age, the battle of external love versus internal love seems to be far more complex than it used to be. On one hand, social media, television, as well as celebrities themselves idolize the impossible yet deeply desired picture perfect relationships, giving young people false hope and all around confusion as to what it means to love someone else. In turn, this creates a feeling of missing out, which leads to a loss of self worth. On the other hand, social media, television, as well as celebrities seem to contradict themselves as they preach what it means to love oneself. However, love cannot be taught by the mind. It must be learned from the heart.
Unequivocally, sometimes the perfect blend of external love and internal love is simply a dream. In reality, one is always victorious over the other. Thus, it only makes sense to ask which is stronger: internal love or external love?
When asked, “what is your definition of love?” each student who responded gave their own meaning of the word. Joel Carvajal (10) explained, “Love is putting someone else’s needs before your own.” Amber Han (10) stated, “Love is the feeling of being safe around people and feeling a sense of happiness when you see them.” Paulina Marroquin (11) described, “Love is when you care about someone more than anyone in this world.” Kylie Naughton (11) said, “Love is to adore someone’s presence.” Last but not least, Sebastian Marquez (11) quoted, “Love is when you have a lot of affection towards someone and when you see something no one else does.”
It is evident that in the average teenage mind, the idea of external love is stronger than the idea of internal love. Yet, with the limited experience of love that teens possess, their opinions are solely based on these ideas. With maturity comes experience and with experience comes knowledge. Knowledgeably, the strongest type of love is self love. Before one can love anyone else, one must first love themselves. Self love is like the roots of a tree, and without strong roots, the tree cannot live. And without life, there is no love.
