Love. Such a simple, short, four-lettered word that can cause so much joy, so much fear, and so much pain. It inspires thousands of songs and is sometimes used lightly and many times, not used enough.

Sometimes I see my married friends and think to myself “I’ve never felt that way about someone…” and with the passing years the thought of “what if I never ever feel that way?” becomes stronger and stronger.

Then I look at my parents and remind myself love is not simple or easy, no matter what movies might make us think. Love is hard, it hurts, it has ups and downs, it’s not always consistent, it takes compromise, a little pain, and lots of will. Also, it’s not the same for everyone and every relationship has its own rules…I believe true love can have many ways of living as long as its based on mutual respect. Again, I see my parents and wonder if I will ever have that…One thing I am convinced of -and this happens specially when I see all my friends and their children- is that the moment I see my own kid, there will be no doubt of the love I will feel and that it will be the purest kind of all.

When I see my grandparents though, my thoughts are a little less dark and become hopeful as I think to myself “I want to have that someday” and I fill myself with faith because I came from them, and from my parents, and if they have endured through all kinds of tests and they triumphed then I guess I could do it too. Somewhere, at some point, I’ll hopefully have life put me to the test and be lucky enough to have someone to hold my hand on the path called life.