Everyone falls in love differently and at their own pace. So with that, how DO people fall and love and what does "love" mean to them? Here are a handful of stories about love, being in love, and the whole process:
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●I honestly think love gets a bad rep these days. I get it; relationships are a lot harder to maintain in today's society, especially with tinder, hookup culture, and people simply wanting to focus on their career before anything else. However, isn't it just nice to hear a love story every now and again? So to get me in the Valentine's Day mood, I asked people to tell me a story about love. It could be about falling in love, meeting the love of their life, or just love in general. Some go to Behrend, others are strangers. So enjoy, because nothing is sweeter than love.
●“Random girl fell in a bar and smashed her nose open, I held everything together under a bar towel, ended up riding in the ambulance with her because they saw no need for me to release the pressure just to re-apply it and they thought we were together anyway, I get to the hospital and stick around to make sure she isn't dead as hell, they keep her for the night on some intense pain meds, I have no cab money, no atm nearby, and no good friends for a ride home, everyone thinks we are together already so I just crash in the little shared room space she had, next day we chat a bit I buy her a coffee that she could barely drink, she gives me cash for a cab and her number, we go on some dates, boom here we are together.”
●“How I fell in love with my current boyfriend: First off, we matched on Tinder. We talked for about a day and then I found out he didn’t live around me and was only around my area for work so it died out pretty quickly. We followed each other’s social media accounts but nothing ever came about it. Then on my birthday, I was feeling confident so I ended up messaging him: giving him my number and saying we should talk more. We immediately hit it off and talked nonstop for a few weeks until finally, he wanted to hang out with me in person. So he bought me a train ticket for me to go all the way from Erie, PA to Kansas City, Missouri (which is where he is from). You don’t just go halfway across the country for anyone so basically, that’s when I knew I was falling in love with him. I went and had the best week meeting him and his family. They ended up inviting me back for the 4th of July and then invited me to go on their family road trip to California. We’re in a long distance relationship but it works out perfectly for both of our busy schedules. It’s a lot of driving 12 hours one way for him to come see me or jumping on a flight to go see him, but he is definitely worth every dollar and minute. He is my best friend and we get along perfectly (he doesn’t even mind my extremely difficult attitude). A year later and we are happier than ever.”
I think how you feel love depends on your age. When you’re young you feel it all at once and it’s just this feeling you think you have and are supposed to feel and you roll with it, but as you get older you realize that love is manifested in different forms and you can recognize it more easily in those forms.
The first time I said “I love you” to someone was in the 10th grade, at my 16th birthday party. He was my first real girlfriend. He was chasing me around the thing that spits the bowling balls out at you and he just blurted it out. We had been officially dating for only a week or so when he said it. I ran away, but then later said it back before he left my party. That relationship was off and on for about six years and we discussed in later years that that wasn’t when we meant “I love you”, we just thought it was something that should have been said at sixteen years old. The real “I love you” came later.
The next time I said it to someone was over Thanksgiving break. I was dating my boyfriend for about two months at the time, but we had been exclusive I guess for about four months and had known each other and worked with each other for two summers. At 22, I’m pretty sure about what I want but I’ve never really had a grasp on my feelings until this guy. Everything just kind of clicks and falls into place with him, so when I started thinking “I love you” after goodnight texts or when he did something cute I didn’t really question it. Except that I overthink everything and started to question it because the last time I said it, I was only a week and a half in the relationship and that didn’t last so was I going too fast? Am I insane for thinking this already? I wanted to throw up. After talking with one of his closest friends, I realized that it wasn’t an “I’m just supposed to say this” feeling, it was real. I loved the guy. So I planned out how I was going to say it to him over break; I was going to do it at the zoo where we met by the gorillas which was the first place we hung out. Nope. Chickened out. On the last day of Thanksgiving break, we went on a walk in his hometown and I just let it out. I said it and felt nauseous and happy at the same time, but I wouldn’t change it.
