What is love? Baby don’t hurt me. Don’t hurt me, no more.
We have all heard this catchy song at some point in our lives, but do we know the answer to this question? With Valentine’s Day dominating the store shelves and social media platforms, love is on everyone’s mind.
True love is looking into a partner’s eyes and knowing they are the one. It is that feeling of stomach knots and excitement whenever they are around. It is that Disney romance feeling — but that is not all it is.
It is also scientifically accurate that all humans experience love. According to Psychology Today, chemicals in our brain make humans zero in on the person that we want, giving us the feeling of euphoria. The stimulant norepinephrine makes a person unable to sleep when they are in love or maybe even keep the smallest details of a partner memorized forever. This is just like the chemical that releases while cuddling. It produces happiness and releases toxins. Love is hard to explain though, even in a scientific manner.
Still, there is the main question: what is love? The science of it is explained above, but it can be many other things as well.
Some people connect love with money. The more one spends shows how much they love their significant other. Guys and girls go nuts with what they buy their significant other and it really shows when it comes to Valentine’s Day. Teddy bears, chocolate and gifts all mean love to some people.
These types of love can be toxic to relationships. A partner may say they buy things for their significant other because they love them more than others. In reality, they want to give their partner the world but have a difficult time showing it. To avoid heartache, try not to overdo the buying it might end up scaring the partner away.
Others classify love as just being there for each other through all the easy times, and difficult ones. In this instance, money doesn’t matter, and couples realize that they can be strong together without receipts stacking up in their pockets.
That being said, do the little things in that special relationship to create sparks. Take a girl out to a nice dinner every once in a while, buy her roses and tell her how beautiful she looks.
On Valentine’s Day my advice would be to do something sentimental to show the world what love is. It may be scientific, a geeky corny love or even the real thing, but show your significant other that you care. Pick out something to do that is unique to your relationship. Hold on and do not let go. Even though Valentine’s Day is a holiday made for money, it doesn’t mean anyone has to spend a ton.
So exactly what is love? From my experience love is real. It will come in due time. Just be patient, and when you run into it, you’ll know. Then you will know the definition of what love is.
Lindsay Trombly can be reached at [email protected]