I'm sick and tired of of girls telling me about how they've been in a relationship for a few months and they're "in love". It makes me wonder how many of them even think that they know what love is. And then I realize: how do I know what it is? So, what is it? Does it exist? How long does it take to achieve it? How do you know when you're in love? I used to be almost certain that I knew exactly what love was; but now I realize that I can only guess at these questions. This is what I've come to believe about love: English, despite all of its wonderfully complex traits, is a sad, damnable language for we only have one word to express a wide array of feelings. There's the love you have for family, friends, items, and lastly, romantic love, eros. But what exactly is the nature of eros... lust? What about that everlasting, pure love that you see at 50th wedding anniversaries? I don't know about any of you, but I'll order some of that, please. A while back, a friend of mine defined this love as the feeling that you could give everything, even your life, for a person and expect nothing in return. So I ask myself: would I die for my significant other? Right now, I'm not entirely sure. I'd like to think that I would. What's the point in living if you don't have anything worth dying for? I then wonder if my "love" will last. Once again, I hope so. Why would you want to sacrifice for something that may turn out to be insubstantial? Maybe you must have some level of faith that it'll survive, and eventually bloom into something of inarticulateable beauty. I find it quite interesting that, in talking about the nature of love, I have mentioned all three of the cardinal virtues (faith, hope, and love). Interesting indeed...

Today my AP Brit Lit class was given the honor and priviledge to be able to take a practice SAT writing assaignment; something that I, nor my fellow Sr. classmates, will ever need to use. The prompt asked us something to the effect of: Why or why isn't discontent the first step to action? Being the philosophic, pensive nerd that I am, I took great interest in the subject and thought about it quite a bit. This was my insight for today: If you think your life is continually full of happiness, then you will lack the motivation to improve it. Why fix something that isn't broken? Thus, it is sometimes better for one to feel a relatively small amount of discontent in life, for it makes one want to strive for something more. As humans, it's impossible for us to reach a state of perfection. To those of you who beg to differ: put down the bong, joint, or whatever substance you prefer, and all the other things that provide you with a false sense of security and wake up. If you lack the motivation to change, you should force yourself to recognize what could be improved and what is false in your life, and use your discontent to fuel your will, and thus maybe become closer to true perfection.