This I believe in love. I believe in true love. And when I say this, I am talking about the real thing. Not lust, nor infatuation, but pure, selfless love for that one person that you are destined to be with. I believe that love is one of the most powerful emotions that humans were created to feel. For some, true love cannot be defined, simply because they have never felt it, or they do not believe in it. Perhaps love is one of the most intangible objects that we can obtain. But yet, we are subconsciously oblivious in order to protect ourselves while standing in the face of true love.This is because we have the fear of having our hearts broken.

To me, true love can mean a series of things. It is risking your own happiness at the extent of another's. Love is patient. Love is selfless. Love creates life, and destroys it. Love heals and breaks. Love is pleasant and cruel. Without love, I believe that you are not complete. And the real tragedy is, that not everyone will believe in true love…I sure didn't. For all my 17 years of life on this planet, I was not one to believe in soulmates or being created for one certain person. I did not believe in fairy tales, or happily ever afters. I thought it was all a hoax. That from the time our minds were most vulnerable and pure as children, society brainwashed us into believing in these types of things. But now, I can happily say that I believe in true love, and this is the story of what changed my mind.

It starts off with my first real boyfriend, Bobby. However, this is not where I had experienced "true love". I was 14 when I had first met him, and he was 16. We had met like any other typical relationships do nowadays… with the help of social media. Eventually, feelings started to develop after the first couple of months into the relationship. Feelings grew so strong to where I had thought I had been in love. I later found out that I was mistaken. Bobby and I lasted for a little over a year until we parted ways, and was no longer together. Now reflecting on that relationship, I had realized this. For 14 months of my life, I had mistaken true love, for a long term infatuation. Love is energizing, yet, I felt drained most of the time. Love is selfless, but he was selfish. Love trusts, but he was possessive and jealous. And this is what caused me to see… that you need to freely let yourself experience the idea of being in love before you can actually have true love.

Once more I had let my mind go back into believing that true love was nothing but a Hollywood legend. Eventually, that changed… yet again. This happened when an old childhood friend came back into my life, Josh, not my next boyfriend; but he who introduced me to my present boyfriend, Carlos. He wasn't what I was looking for, and definitely not what I expected. But I believe in love, and that it can come into your life when you very least expect it, with the most unexpected person. A psychologist conducted a study of the capability of adolescents falling in love in high school, the results were that no more than 15% have fully experienced “true love.” Now I know the chances are slim between Carlos and I, and the odds might not be in my favor, but I will definitely take my chances. Because with Carlos, I feel free. Like I am capable of doing anything. I feel comfortable in my own skin. It is like I had known him all my life. I do not worry about or doubt his feelings for me, he shows me he cares. And I believe that we just might be part of that 15%.

Yes I am still a kid. And I still may not fully know what love is… especially to others who have experienced it more than I have. But this is what I do know. As my grandmother would always say, “Love is an just emotion, and you can feel emotions towards people despite on the amount of time knowing them.” I believed this, I believed this 110%. Because to me, time is not factor in feeling emotions. Carlos and I haven't been together for that long, but my feelings are strong and continue to grow everyday. So this, this I believe in love. I believe in selflessly caring for another unconditionally. I believe in being with someone who makes your heart feel like it was missing something all your life. This I believe in true love… do you?