What is Love?

“You have never loved me. You have only thought it pleasant to be in love with me”

I was seated on the classroom floor when I read this sentence, I never thought that a quote from a high school set book carry such a profound meaning which really got me thinking.

Isn’t it such a mangled mess having to believe the concept of love at an age where most emotions are supercharged by hormonal imbalances. When ones sole reference for love is either it’s flawed representation in media or your parent’s failing marriage.

We tend to romanticize codependency and think that need and hurt is equivalent to love, that love itself is a lifeline you need to hold on to. That without it you are incomplete. You have never fallen in love with the person but always with the idea of what loving them and them you is like. Which begs the question…

What is love?