Eight letters.
Three words.
And somehow, they still carry the weight of the entire universe.
I grew up surrounded by love that was spoken out loud. With my mom, I love you ends almost every conversation—so naturally that it feels unfinished without it. But with my friends, those words rarely make an appearance. And that contrast lingered with me longer than I expected.
It made me wonder: do people know that I love them?
We’re often told, “Tell your loved ones you love them,” and yet there’s a strange gap between intention and expression. With some people, the words sit right at the tip of my tongue, ready to fall. With others, they get caught behind layers of overthinking—like a dam built in my mind, holding back a river that would otherwise flow endlessly.
What complicates it further is that I know I am loved. I see it in the way people make room for me in their lives, in how they show up, in how they stay. And still, now and then, I find myself questioning it. Not because love isn’t there—but because I’m searching for it in a very specific language. So, I tried shifting my perspective.
What if I’ve been too narrow in my understanding of what I love you is supposed to sound like?
What if I’ve been overlooking love simply because it wasn’t spelled out in those exact words?
The thought felt almost ridiculous at first, but the more I sat with it, the more serious it became. We spend so much time trying to read between the lines when sometimes, the truth is written plainly—just not in the font we were expecting. If you’re anything like me, maybe learning to recognize love in its quieter forms can help you feel it. These are some of the ways I’ve started noticing it.
- . “THIS MADE ME THINK OF YOU.”
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I love green.
One of my best friends loves Snoopy. Another loves Coach. Whenever I come across something tied to the people I love, my instinct is immediate—to buy it. Or at the very least, send a picture with a message that says, “this reminded me of you.”
It seems small, but it isn’t. It’s an object turning into an internal response of affection. It’s your eyes learning to look for pieces of someone else in the world. There’s something intimate about knowing you live in someone’s mind like that—woven into the ordinary, remembered without effort, held gently and rent-free.
- . “JUST BECAUSE… “
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“I got this for you.”
“I came to see you.”
“I wrote you this.”There’s nothing after the because, and that doesn’t make it meaningless—it makes it pure. There’s no reasoning to justify it, no transaction to balance it out. It’s affection that exists simply because it wants to.
We live in a world that quietly teaches us to expect exchange—to give with the assumption that something will be returned. So, when someone gives it without asking, it feels disarming. Warm. Honest. Like being chosen without conditions.
- . “I MISS YOU.”
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Yes, it’s obvious.
And yes, it still matters. Missing someone is wanting their presence closer, acknowledging the space they occupy in your life. You don’t miss what your heart has never made room for.
- . “I LIKE TEASING YOU.”
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As someone who is incredibly easy to rile up, this one finds me often. There’s a specific kind of person who knows exactly how to push your buttons—but does it playfully, carefully, and lovingly.
That kind of teasing takes awareness. It requires paying attention and learning someone well enough to annoy them without harming them. And it only feels light when it comes from someone you trust. Who you allow into that space says a lot about who you love.
- . “I’M SORRY.”
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In conflict, it’s easy to stay rooted in your own perspective, to focus on being right. But an apology is an act of surrender—it’s choosing understanding over ego.
Saying sorry means acknowledging hurt, but beyond that, it carries hope. Hope that the relationship will survive, that it can grow, that loving someone better is worth learning how.
- . “I’M HAPPY WHEN YOU’RE HAPPY.”
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There is something quietly powerful about being celebrated without comparison.
The world is competitive enough as it is, so having someone who sees your success as something to rejoice in —without envy, without resentment—is rare. That kind of support is love that doesn’t need spotlight.
- . “I CAN’T IMAGINE MY LIFE WITHOUT YOU.”
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We all come from different worlds, carrying different stories. And yet, sometimes we meet people who leave us fuller every time we cross paths. To be so deeply integrated into someone’s life that they can’t picture it without you—that kind of love doesn’t hide.
- . “TEACH ME WHAT YOU LOVE.”
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This one surprised me. Whether it’s a hobby, a passion, a sport, or a topic that lights you up—wanting to learn it isn’t about the activity itself. It’s about wanting to understand you.
Time is invaluable. When someone chooses to spend their learning in your world, its effort made visible. And effort, more than words, is often the truest expression of love.
At the heart of all these moments is the same truth: love is not just something we feel, it’s something we practice. It shows up in attention, in patience, in choosing to care in ways that might never be spoken out loud.
And maybe love doesn’t need to be louder.
Maybe it just needs to be recognized.
