Oh dear...

Today is October 18, 2006. Mark this day down in history, because I'm going to answer one of life's biggest questions... in this post. Be prepared.

What is love?

Ahh, such a tricky phrase. Only one who is young and innocent could truly answer this question.

Ha, innocent. Right. But I'll do my best anyway.

Love comes in many different forms, as I'm sure anyone with half a brain could tell you. But to make things logical, we'll say that there are 4 kinds of love:

First, there's blood-related family love. This is USUALLY the strongest kind of love that exists. Undying, unbending, and unbreakable, love for those with similar DNA has withstood the tests of time and never, ever dies. Just because you don't particularly like someone in your family for awhile does not mean that you don't love them. In the most extreme (and sad) cases, a blood relative could possibly distance themselves so much in morals or physical location that you lose your family ties over time. But that is rare.

Type II: Friend/family love. Some say there is a fine line between friends and family, but I disagree. There is a certain point in a friendly, non-intimate relationship where you virtually become family and the roles of brothers, sisters, or other relatives can be filled. These are not just come-and-go friends who take your clothes and never return them; these are the everlasting, 'til death, by your side forever, your "brother from another mother" friends. The kind that jump to your aid when someone's messing with you in school, or call you when they know you're down. In sad actuality, these kinds of relationships can also fade, but they are never forgotten and I'm positive that years down the road, if indeed a "brother" or "sister" is distant, they'd still love to hear from you.

A third kind would be love for abstract ideas, or emotions. Hard to describe, this kind of love falls in line with obsessions, habits, traditions, and thought. The rush from skydiving- borderline obsession, yet has that lingering love to it. That "butterflies in your stomach" feeling just before a swim meet or a DI competition- that's love for me. I love to feel that way and there's no better word to use to describe it. It is love. It is a desire to feel that particular way, and the need to feel it. The love to have emotion. The love to get a hug from a friend. Love to be on a stage. Love to ride on the water. Etcetera.

And finally, the kind of love that I know ran through your mind first when I put that BIG QUESTION on the top of this post. The fourth kind. The biggest, most dangerous yet most rewarding kind of love.

"True" love.

The giddy, high-on-life feeling one gets when they're around someone they care about deeply. Not puppy love- that's more Type II. Real love. Now, I'm not saying I've been in love... I'm just a kid. But you never know, eh? It could happen. But true love is deep. It is real, after all. There are more dimensions to love than there are to the universe (and trust me, I've looked into those too). I'm finding it difficult to put into words exactly what this kind of love is, so maybe some examples would be better.

The tingly feeling in your hand when it happens to brush theirs. That stupid grin you get when you meet their eyes and it's just so funny you can't stand it. The laughing. The smiling. The day-to-day knowledge that somebody cares and there's nothing you have to do for it. You don't have to change, you don't have to be someone else... You love them, despite their defects, and you know deep down that maybe, just maybe, they love you too. It's different than the other three kinds of love, because unlike the others, this one hits you by surprise and comes on strong. It's overwhelming and intoxicating, the perfect combination to make each and every day seem like a good one.

If you're wondering, I'm not "in love." I'm a kid, remember? But I was thinking about all of this, and the more I think about it, the more it makes sense. The more I think, the more I want to share it with the world (or my world, anyway... aka the readers of this blog). So if any of these ideas strike you as juvenile, that's just too bad. It's a collection of my thoughts, MY answer to the BIG QUESTION.

Love to you all-
Abby<3