Love is Friendship. 

Love is feeling secure enough to share whatever is in your mind,
It’s listening to them rant, or complain without judgment at all times.  
It’s sometimes making funny faces to lift their spirits,
And commit to making sure they’re fine.
It’s running an extra kilometer to get their favorite ice cream when all is blue.
It is trying hard to make it up to them every time they’re pissed at you.
It is becoming better at sensing their cues.
It’s offering your shoulders at sunset like a gentleman when they’re upset with life’s shenanigans.

In times of success, it’s graciously cheering for them, 
It's assisting them to process their failures with bottles of whiskey or rum.
Love is loving to spend time with them. It’s the gift of undivided presence. 
Its essence is having conversations about everything under the sun, 
But also about being comfortable in silence.
It’s building tolerance for their weird eccentricities, or teasing them for their stupidity, 
It is noticing them, like really. It’s adoring them when they are silly. 

It’s sometimes feeling content just by exchanging some kind words at the end of a tiring day.
It’s diving in for the mundane stuff like grocery shopping and still making it fun in your own unique way.Love is sometimes being sad together, the other times, love is having a lot of fun together. 
Its playfulness blended with a lot of patience and humor. 
Love is friendship. It is pure, warm, fuzzy, and cozy. 
It is an equal partnership. It is unlike any other relationship.

Love is Growth.

Love is sharing many novel experiences while having each other’s backs.
It’s traveling and exploring the world together in your backpacks.
It’s going outside of your comfort zone together by doing things that you fear.
But love can get tricky. It is pushing your partner to the best of your ability.
It’s sharing finances, splitting bills, and taking responsibility.
It is realizing no one else can solve your problems or make you truly happy.

You can’t use love as a drug to escape from yourself. 
It’s not an excuse to get attention or to cure you of your loneliness.
There’s no knight in shining armor coming to save you. 
It’s work you need to do, maybe, by going to therapy. 
All your partner can do is support you through that roaring tsunami.
It’s giving them space to make their own mistakes.
When absolutely needed, love could be healed by taking breaks and time away,

Forget about being righteous, 
You won’t get anywhere by telling them what to do, you’re only there for guidance,
Or to show them another perspective and make them open-minded. Love’s realizing that you both need an adequate amount of solitude, 
It’s like this journey where you can never really reach the altitude, 
For you can never completely know them, or yourself for that matter.
So, it’s about constantly trying to study each other, learning, iterating, and repeating.
Love is alerting yourself not to take the other person for granted when you become complacent. 
After all, post the honeymoon period, love’s all about consistent effort,
Love is growing together as a couple but also as independent individuals.

Love is a Choice.

Love’s about realizing that your partner is flawed in so many ways, 
Perfection is flawed and boring as a concept anyway.
It’s completely accepting all the shades of them like no one else, 
It’s having the courage to be vulnerable and show your scars when it feels impossible, 
Despite what your ego tells you, it is about accepting their help.
Love is being honest when it hurts because trusting each other is the only way it could work.

Like, “I don’t love you anymore”, “I am ready to move in” or “I don’t like your cooking”,
Whether it’s jealousy or insecurity, it’s never apologizing for your genuine feelings, 
The only way to get through to the other side is by truly communicating.
It’s not wanting to change your person, it’s listening instead of reacting to their emotions, 
it’s becoming better at the art of reconciliation.
Love is hard work in times of adversity, unlike shown in the movies.

It’s navigating tough conversations and resolving conflicts,
It’s sticking together and brainstorming on creative solutions as a unit.
It’s loving them when they are unlovable, it’s consoling them when they are inconsolable, 
Love is showing up again and again when every cell in your cell tells you to hide,
It’s actively making a choice not to quit, especially when the grass looks greener on the other side.
If persevered, love could be the most magical thing in your life.