By Gillian Reid, Staff Writer
We live in a fast-paced world where there are a million things going on and only so many hours in the day. However, I have come to realize that you have to slow down and “smell the roses” so to speak. This is why I always remind the people that are close to me that I love them every day. It’s such a novel and important concept that many people forget quite often.
In the world we live in today, it is so easy to tell people “I love you” and yet, so many people rarely do nowadays because of the importance attached to it. For some reason, it is seen as weak to love someone because that means you’re showing emotion. However, it is quite the contrary. In order to love, you have to love yourself first, and then be able to put that love onto someone else. You are willing to give up a part of yourself in order to make that other person happy.
So, what happens when you don’t tell someone that you love them? Well, dramatically, the other person doesn’t feel like you love them back. There are cultures where it is normal to not hear your parents say that they love you- and that is fine. However, in American culture, it is expected to happen. I’ve been in a relationship where I told the other person that I loved him, and he never once said it back. At first, it was that old adage of “give them time, it’ll eventually happen.” Four months went by without him returning the sentiment, despite me telling him whenever we talked that I loved him. That, among other reasons, destroyed our relationship because I felt as if I was putting all this effort in and wasn’t getting anything in return.
What happens when you tell someone that you love them every day? Well, you feel loved! When I was 20 years old, I lost someone to cancer who was like a second mom to me. She knew that it was coming and thus, wanted to make sure that everyone knew how much they meant to her. The last thing she ever said to me was “I love you.” To this day, I cherish that “I love you” more than the other times she said it because I knew that she was saying “goodbye.” I still remember the exact tone and the way she said it to me.
Honestly, it takes about 5 seconds to send someone a text saying, “Love you, have a good day!” and people are happier when they feel that others care about them. We should never take one another for granted because we do
n’t know how much time we have with each other. It’s not enough to say “I haven’t said ‘I love you’, but they know that I do”, because do they really? Have you read their mind?
It’s true that actions speak louder than words, but that doesn’t mean the words don’t need to be said.