I love you. How many times have every girl dreamed of hearing those 3 words from their boyfriend? How many viewers have swooned before the movies screen as the leading man croons it to his beloved? Hundreds? Thousands? Millions? In our society today, love is flung about in the same way that a girl carelessly throw flowers to her suitors. Few really appreciate the wholesome, pure meaning of the word, and those who do sometimes shrug it off. “I love you!!!” is used time and time over, from using it with a friend who helped with the homework to with a boy who really means nothing more than friendly flirting. It seems to have replaced the word “like” as the most wrongfully used word in the teenage vocabulary.

Love. The feeling where you would give it all just to spend time with your beloved. The idea of giving your life to save theirs and doing anything just to please them. The Titanic. The Notebook. Dirty Dancing. These movies showcase “love” the right way, placing emphasis on the feeling of love. In real life, the word should only be used when it’s meant whole-heartedly, but alas, it’s not. Actually, in the case of teenagers, I don’t believe it could ever actually be meant. We are both undeveloped and passionate and I just don’t think love could actually find it’s way to our brains (or hearts), other than in the case of family.

Love should simply be banished from teenagers’ vocabularies. It causes way too much hurt and pain. I’ve seen it in my friends’ faces when they’re going through a breakup where the boy obviously didn’t mean “I love you”, I’ve experienced the heartbreak firsthand, and, guiltily, I’ll admit that I’ve even been the one who lied about loving my boyfriend. The pain in your chest, the way your stomach drops, the way tears start to form; I wish I could never feel that again. And, yet, I know it’ll probably happen again because liars do exist. I just seem to fall for their false words over and over again. It’s gotten to the point where I’m considering telling people not to say, “I love you” because I know that they don’t mean it. I wish I could help other people never feel the hurt when they’re lied to, but I can’t. “Love” is just too slippery to stop, whether real or fake. All we can do is be more careful about using the precious 3 words, and guard our hearts close.