Happy Valentine's Day

This post was one I started late last year, just after the terrorist attacks in Paris, France. I never finished it because I couldn't make it sound how I wanted it to. I think I fixed it now.

(Note: I didn't change anything from the original, I only added to it. Because of that, the tense in this post shifts from present to past as the post progresses. I kept it like that because thought it sounded better that way.)

Over the past week, I've been thinking a lot about Paris. I've always had a pretty strong desire to travel, and Paris was always high up on my list of the places I wanted to go. But this week, I didn't think about the Eiffel Tower, or the Louvre, or the Notre Dame Cathedral. I thought about the terrorist attacks that were performed in Paris on November 13th. I thought about the people, the innocent people, who left their house that day, never to return.

I thought about the children who lost their parents.
I thought about the parents who lost their children.
I thought about the friends of the victims, and how they never got to say goodbye.

And it hurts. Because it's so freaking unfair.

Even simply thinking about the people affected by those attacks makes me ache for them. I can hardly imagine the pain that so many people are going through. But this post is not about those attacks. It is not about pain, or hatred, or terrorism.

This post is about love.

I cannot express to you how amazed I was at the outpouring of love I saw after the attacks. It was astounding. My favorite image was one I saw that said, "When the City of Lights goes dark, the rest of the world lights up for her."

It's incredible that when tragedy strikes, we all take a step back and realize that there are things that are bigger than we are. We find out that, in our moments of weakness, we become strong by holding on to one another. And we can provide the best comfort by simply giving a kind hug or a warm smile.

And so I learned a lot about love. I learned that love doesn't care what colors your flag is. Love is indifferent to the team that you play for. Love isn't swayed by a difference in skin color or religion.

Love is fair.

Love is easily the most powerful force in the world. It is stronger than a roaring lion, yet softer than a floating cloud. It heals; it guides; it protects; it saves. Love is so simple, and yet, it's so complicated. It can be understood by a child and felt by the oldest ancestor.

 Love is universal.

And that's what I realized after the attacks in Paris. Love is a force felt by all of us. It drives us to help each other, and it pushes us to soothe the pains of life and the aches of loss. Love is incessantly uniting, because it brings us together in our moments of deepest sorrow, but also in our moments of hardest laughter.

But the most important thing I realized after all of this is one simple definition that I had never considered before, and one that I will never let go of now. I came to this conclusion sitting in a car belonging to one of the people I love most in this world.

Love is simply the desire for someone else to be happy.

That's why love is such a unique and powerful thing. It's because love is the only emotion that we feel that is entirely produced for other people. Love is the dedication to the success and the prosperity and the happiness of others. If you think that you will be happy just because you love something, you don't really love it. You can't love something for selfish reasons, because that's not what love is. Love isn't about yourself. It's about something that's more important than you are.

When I started this post, back in November, I saw love expressed in the greatest capacity I could imagine, as I saw people singing, crying, and gathering together to honor those who were lost in the terrorist attacks in Paris. Since today is Valentine's Day, I've also seen a lot of love being shared between people today.



Isn't it a shame we need a terrorist attack or a holiday to remember to tell someone we love them?



In my 17 years of life, I've come to understand that love manifests itself in many different ways. I've seen a friend of mine show love by paying for my food. I've seen my mother show love by getting up extra early to make a delicious breakfast that my family and I gratefully devoured.

Love isn't about the grand gestures. It's about the little things. So whether you have a "Valentine" or not today, remember to tell someone you love them. Give a hug. Write a note. Send a text. I don't care.

Because one other thing I realized as a result of those terrorist attacks is how fragile life is. So today, remember to show some love.

Because you never know what could happen tomorrow.