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Julio Felix

English 101

Dr. Cuddy

9/24/19

Lover Boy

“I Love You” are words said to friends, family, and significant others but what does it

really mean. Everyone says that they ​love​ people and everyone says that they want to be loved by

someone. ​Love ​has been a word used throughout history that has brought anguish and relief to

many throughout the late 20th and 21st centuries. Yet ​love ​is also a word that isn’t understood

by many and said by the mass “why is that? Why do people feel the need to say I love you when

not understanding what it means? ​Love ​is mysterious and intriguing at the same time but before

making a decision on which one it is there has to be a common understanding of the word.

The word ​love​ dates back to the 1400’s. It was inherited from the Germanic; their

perspective on the word was “ the pleasure one experinced through something, goodwill, or

kindliness”(love, n.). The meaning of this word hasn’t had a significant change throughout

history, in old english they referred to ​love​ as “ [a] Strong predilection, liking, or fondness (for

something); devotion (to something)”( Love n.). Although these two definitions are not

completely the same they are intertwined with one another. In the 1800’s saying the word ​love

had a different connotation than it does now. When people used to say they loved someone they

had a better understanding of what that entialied. It wasn’t said without meaning there was
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substance behind it. There was a genuine connection and understanding between the two parties,

they both felt like they put work, effort, care, and attention into the relationship to enable them to

say the four letter word that everyone wants to hear. Now it almost seems like people just say

love t​ o say it. The definition of ​love​ now is “A feeling or disposition of deep affection or

fondness for someone”(love, n.). There are still similar parallels between them but the way that

the people in this era use it different. The word used to be special. In this era, people say that

they ​love​ each other when they are hiding other feelings of hatred, disgust, or just uncertainty.

When there is actual ​love ​between two people, it's almost as if they are to scared of what will

happen once the four letters are brought into existence. ​Love i​ s an emotion that can not be fully

unearthed but maybe that's the beauty in it, the fact that no one ever knows what it truly means or

how it’s supposed to be said.

Love ​was always a word that I struggled with comprehending. I never quite knew what it

meant but was always told to say it. I sometimes thought ​love​ wasn’t really a feeling at all, it

was just a word that was said when family was around. As I got older I started to gain more

information on what ​love ​was but I wasn’t really satisfied. I just thought it was an emotion you

get when you care for someone. So I started asking people what ​love ​meant to them and almost

every single person I asked said the same thing. They said “there is no one way to explain ​love

it's just a feeling you get when your in ​love ​with someone.” Maybe I phrased the question the

wrong way or maybe they just didn't understand because that wasn’t by any means an answer to

my question. Eventually after getting the same answer enough times I decided to rephrase the

way I asked my question. This is when I started getting more concrete answers; when I asked

people why they love other people every person would say different stuff but one thing in
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common was the way the person makes them feel. The reason I find this word to be so important

and worthy of my time is because I feel like ​love ​is one of those words that everyone says but

never really understood what it meant, at least that's how I was. I like knowing what words mean

and since this word holds so much weight and means so much to so many people I thought that it

wouldn’t be a bad work to divulge into. ​Love ​is a feeling that sometimes can’t be described or

sometimes it’s a word that your to scared to say but whatever the case is no one can invalidate

your definition of ​love ​ because its yours. No one can tell you how or what to feel. ​Love ​gives

people the opportunity to express what they feel to others which is why it’s so important to

understand.

Ever since the first person said that they loved a person they started something big. When

you say your in love with someone or that you ​love y​ our family your joining billions of people

who have felt the way you feel and understand the pain and struggle that it takes to get there.

Love ​isn’t always a good thing, it has the ability to break you and everyone you care about down

but the reason that it is still around is because everything worth having and feelings comes with

risks. It all depends on how a person decided to act once they are given the information.

Regardless of if you think love has to do with a connection between two people, a word that is

used to much by this generation, or a word that can’t be defined by any one person ​love ​is and

has and always will be a thing that ties us together.

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Works cited

"love, n.1." ​OED Online,​ Oxford University Press, September 2019,

www.oed.com/view/Entry/110566. Accessed 22 September 2019.