13 walking to 19

What is LOVE?

So, I graduated from high school – a place where countless memories were made, and lessons were learned. Throughout high school, crushes came and went. As teenagers surrounded by others of the same age, our characteristics and ideas were easily influenced. I know there were many teenagers who took studies seriously and never engaged in activities that would give their parents heart attacks.

The truth is, many of us experienced heartbreaks, even at such a young age. High school is where they say we are too young for love but old enough to handle our feelings.I witnessed many people in love, or what I thought was love. I saw people do unbelievable things for the sake of "love" or allow their happiness to be determined by it. Frankly, it disgusted me. I couldn't understand why people would sacrifice so much for someone else without a guarantee that he or she would do the same. Throughout the three years I was in high school, I couldn't let anyone in. I couldn't believe in love. Every guy who ever whispered a pick-up line in my ear felt exactly the same as other guys who hurt my friends. All I ever heard from adults was, "These guys just want to get in your pants."

Like bees searching for sweet nectar from freshly blossomed flowers, teenage boys around me were everywhere around girls, looking for ways to do whatever with them. Were there any genuine ones among them? Can teenagers truly love? Can teenagers care for one another like grown-ups do? Is it a bad thing to be in love as teenagers? Why did we have to hide our love stories from people who claimed they loved us? Questions kept going round and round in my mind.

Now that I am not a teenager anymore, I can proudly say love has no age. Just as you can love your parents right from childhood, you are certainly also able to love other people regardless of being a teenager. The difference is that we are not fully developed enough to handle it. Love is undoubtedly complicated. Sometimes, it is overly heavy for our tiny, inexperienced hearts to handle. We can surely feel love but can't do anything about it. Perhaps, like how a baby doesn't know what to do with a remote he is so curious about, we also may have no idea what to do with how we feel, but at the same time, we are inquisitive to know what it is like.

Dear teenagers, take your time with love. What you are feeling toward that guy or girl is real, but it might not end up in smiles only. This isn't your fault. It is the excitement of being a teenager. In the name of love, everyone wants to try new things and interact with many people. You all want to know the feeling. The brand new feeling of "love." The special feeling of being in the middle of kids and adults. But little do you know, you are still kids. In the eyes of your guardians, you are all still kids, and some of your actions really do affect your future.So, take your time. Not everything he tells you is true. Not everything you think of her is true. There will be bumps and bruises along the way. But nobody is perfect at love, and nobody is incapable of love. Your experiences, whether good or bad, will later help you find yourself and maybe your eternal love too.