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How old do you have to be before you love someone? Is it even fair to put an age on love? When children are old enough to talk, or perhaps when they learn to say their prayers, one of the first things their parents teach them is to say, "I love you mommy and daddy." They learn that they need their parents to survive, and that the care they provide is vital. This familial love is expected and defined as normal..but when the child gets older, lets say 14+ and they say they are in love with someone outside the family--a boyfriend or girlfriend its not accepted, its not real, its "puppy love". Lets accept this as being true for now. If this same child comes home and tells their parents, "I love ____ they're my best friend", its likely the parents will think its sweet and be happy their child has forged such an important relationship. Ok...WHAT?? 14+ is old enough to love, but only in a platonic way. You're fully capable of loving a friend, but as far as dating relationships go, you are incapable of loving another human being--you don't know what love is. Ok, to some extent this view may be true, but its not fair to classify every "young" dating relationship in this way.

Ughhh!! shadiest is human and needs to be loved, just like everybody else does. Is it so hard to believe that me, a 20 yr old woman doesn't want to "experience another relationship"? Is it wrong that I love?..oh wait I forgot, I don't know how to love. My primative brain is overcome with hormones and falsetruths..I've been blinded--I don't love. I suppose if I had a date every friday night my parents would be happy..or maybe if I was on Elimidate shoving my tongue down some random guys throat. Perhaps if I bedded every man I met along the way. Is that what you want? Is that the answer? No? Oh I see..I should date around to see if there is anyone out there who's better for me? While I can see the thought behind that I don't think it'd work..there will always be someone better than your current lover. You may meet someone who is better than your significant other in the course of a normal day, are you supposed to turn to your significant other and say, "Honey you're great, but I think I have the chance to be with someone who is superior to you in every conceivable way?" NO NO NO!!! That's not fair to anyone, its not fair to the individual, the significant other, or the future prospect. I know that this IS what alot of people do..but that isn't right for me. I think dating like that would just cause someone to get caught in a perpetual cycle of dating..date after date after date..going through things fine...until you find someone "cuter", "sexier", or "smarter". A person could date forever if they looked for love like that. As I said before, people do date like this..for years..maybe from 14 onward..and suddenly when these people are 28 or thereabouts, they flip through their "little" black book and wonder what it was all for...pointless creatures who shared their life, possibly their bed for a period of time..there was no lasting love. What was it for? Maybe they did find their love..found them years ago at age 18 or 19 but turned to them and said "Honey you're great, but I think I have the chance to be with someone who is superior to you in every conceivable way." And that love, that true love walks out the door--if that happens..if YOU let that happen then its nobodys fault but your own. I'm not going to let that happen to me, I'm done listening.