Love from a rookie’s pov.
Love to me has been this known stranger. Someone I’d probably see on the metro every day but never had interactions beyond a few smiles. Or a cute guy who happens to sit next to me on the ride back home. These little things become something I look forward to. And so is love.
Love is one of the most trending topics in movies and books. I have read more books based on romantic love than any other genre. All these things built up this curiosity and excitement about love. I cannot wait to unravel all the mysteries that lie there and see for myself if all that the books and movies talked about are actually true. On the other hand, it also has become one of my insecurities. Not having tried my hand at love when most people around me have, becomes isolating at times. It feels like I am missing out on something big, like a party I missed my invitation to. That way, romantic love remains like a blend of a question mark and an exclamation point in my life.
Growing up, we see so many movies and see the protagonists so happy and content with each other’s company that they cannot fathom being apart from each other. They fight for it, against the whole world, even their family, all for that one person. And this was labeled love. Because we love each other, they would say, justifying their behaviors and actions. That was how I was introduced to the idea of love; through the few movies, I saw as a kid. This has been my introduction to love. My “What is love?” guide. I got this thought when I remembered an incident that occurred when I was about thirteen to fourteen years old. I was at my family get-together, and we were all watching a movie, and you guessed it, a love story, and out of nowhere, my six-year-old cousin asks her mom what love is. We all started laughing at this, this innocence and curiosity, and at that moment, I realized I don’t know what exactly love is either, beyond what you just read.
The curiosity about the whole idea of it fosters more around teenagers, I guess. The entire concept of dating is in style, and truth or dare is the most favorite game to play. The number of crashes that have been revealed just by that one game is too many to count. The game catalyzed so many love equations and crushes. It fostered chemistries (subtly putting my pea-sized knowledge in chemistry to use.) Teenage is when love’s little pocket-sized version, infatuation, takes the stage. We are so full of it at that time. Always one truth or dare game away from a new couple being made and teased. Now that I write this, I miss those times. When feelings weren’t as complicated, and it was mostly Crazy, Stupid, “Love.”
Now, it is so much more complicated and more serious. The quotes around the word love are removed. It has become a necessity or an entry ticket to be this deemed cool. Love and dating become an appreciated requirement in the social resume. Never having dated or loved anyone like that, I feel that a lot. Like a major FOMO. It became something I started hiding under covers, like a secret I am too embarrassed to talk about. And it still is. But I am gradually trying to pick it up and use it like armor instead of making it something I need to be ashamed of. I am trying to see it in a way where I am taking in all the knowledge before jumping into the messy and beautiful world it is. Kinda like diving into a deep pool with floaters. And that is always helpful.
My knowledge of love does not go any more beyond this. Like I gave it away in the title, this is a rookie’s point of view of love. I enjoyed writing this, and I hope you did reading. Love can be anything you want it to be. Making love more subjective makes it more beautiful. We all have different definitions and points of view of love. And that is what makes it special. Thank you for reading my unsolicited opinion on love. I hope you and I both find that mega-cringe, super-chill, and smile-inducing love in our lives, when we want to, without peer pressures.
PS: Putting up pictures that represent my idea of romantic love ;)
