It’s so cute to love and be loved! It’s what I believe is everyone’s main purpose in this world, but it seems a little harder to find than it used to be.
When we were children, we hugged our parents every time they came home from work and wrote sincere birthday cards to our siblings. In today’s society, it’s more common to send your parents a goodnight text (if even that) and then buy a Hallmark birthday card and simply sign your name.
This happens with friendships too. Remember when you and your best friend had matching necklaces from Claire’s? They had the typical half-heart that when connected read “BFFL,” or they had sillier ones that were peanut butter and jelly or mustaches (if you can remember that era for a second). I was proud of my best friend and she was proud of me. It made me happy to wear that necklace, and it’s one I still keep boxed up in my childhood closet.
How about when we would stay up late at night in middle school making an Instagram collage with a long paragraph caption to post at midnight for our friends’ birthdays? Looking back, that was so cute and such a small and simple gesture, yet people don’t do it like that anymore.
We get a small “Happy Birthday BFF! I love to love you! You deserve the best day” shoutout because now, it would be excessive to share such a vulnerable, elaborate, and perhaps even embarrassing post with our Instagram followers. But why is it embarrassing to show everyone how much you love your best friend?
Romantic relationships are where people most direct this commonality of “loss of love.” I want the cheesy, corny lover! I’ll wear my boyfriend’s initials on a necklace every single day. I’ll hold his hand in any and every public setting, and I don’t care if people see us kiss. I think of him every night before sleeping, and he’s my first thought in the morning. I tell him this so he knows how loved he is. I’m not sure if that came across as cheesy, but that’s my point!
I don’t want the grandiose word “love” to be intimidating. It’s synonymous with joy, kindness, and respect. It’s something as simple as smiling at a stranger on the street. And it’s not only applicable in romantic relationships. When was the last time you told your mom you loved her? I make sure I tell all of my family and closest friends that I love them every time we get off the phone. A quick, “Okay I have to go but I’ll talk to you later, I love you” can make all the difference.
Give your grandparents a call just to say you were thinking of them while you still have the chance. I can still hear my late grandma’s voice at the end of each phone call saying “Ohhhh, thanks for calling, dolly!” Then she would tell my dad how happy she was about how often I dialed.
A simple text to your mom asking about her day could make her feel more loved than you’d imagine. She’ll think, Oh! My daughter texted me! You know how you get when you see your crush’s name pop up on your phone? That’s how I think parents feel about their children, especially when they’re away at college.
In a world where hate and violence are all too prominent, do something nice for a friend, buy your mom flowers, and be the love that everyone needs more of.
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