Humans and Romance

Romance. Love. Attraction. Whatever word you want to use to describe it, it’s been an important part of the human culture. It’s the racing hearts and the rosy cheeks and those goofy smiles. It’s the exploration of another heart, another soul, another mind and another body.

It’s at the heart of every teenage or young adult novels and movies. The first love a person has is often the hardest to overcome if the relationship ends. Love is described in many ways but I think it’s a fragile thing. I don’t mean fragile as in “it can easily break”, no, I mean fragile as in “this is the most precious gift I can receive so I want to take care of it so I don’t lose it.” Love is, in my opinion, the purest emotion any human can have.

The question people have asked over and over again is why love is so important to us. Every form of love is important, but I’ll be focusing on romantic love.

I think in order to help us find the answer; we have to look at how love came into the world. There will be many different answers for this, but if you were raised Catholic, as I was, we believe that love came from God. For was it not God that said “it is not good for man to be alone?” Did women not come from the rib of a man?

As humans, I think, deep down, all of us crave a connection of some kind. We want that special someone to come in and shake us up a little bit. We want someone to look us in the eyes and tell us how much we are loved.

For me, I’ve always dreamed of having those late night conversations or walks in the autumn leaves. I’ve dreamed of those dances on sunset-lit beaches or stealing a kiss as the snow falls in our hair. More than that, however, I wanted someone who sees me as I am, not as the world wants me to be. Thankfully, I’ve had that person for three years. He makes me very happy.

Here’s the other question: why are most romances found in movies about teenagers or young adults? I don’t know if there’s a simple explanation for this, but here is my two cents.

Teenagers are learning how to be adults. Jobs, taxes, homes, and yes, relationships. Teenagers experience emotions ten times bigger than we do as adults. A teenager’s first love is always the most beautiful yet complicated relationship. They look to their parents or other adults to show them how to navigate this beautiful event. The love of a teenager is love in it’s purest form. Love in a teenage relationship is where most of the starry-eyed, puppy love comes from. Teenagers in love don’t often have the complications of an adult relationship. They are more concerned with making their loved one happy and spoiling them.

Love is also one of the most unselfish emotions a human can have. Because when you’re in love with someone, you have to sometimes make sacrifices. Love is also unselfish because you’re giving someone your whole heart and, on top of that, it’s unselfish because you have to trust another person with some of your deepest secrets. Partners often know more about you than any other person. When you love someone, you trust them, and that takes a lot of effort. However, love isn’t just you trusting someone; it’s also about another person trusting you with their past and their secrets. Are they going to be trustworthy to you often turns into can I be trustworthy for them?

As humans, we are moved by romance. We are moved by this powerful emotion that sometimes, if not used right, can leave us broken. Sometimes, love keeps you waiting. The heart knows who is right for you, even if it needs a little help from your brain.