Love isn’t just a feeling, but a complex mix of emotions, behaviors, and beliefs. It’s the reason you forgive your partner for being late, commit to finishing a creative project, or feel devastated when your team loses. Whether you’re in love with your family, your partner, your best friend, or even the person who drives you crazy, it’s hard to imagine life without them.
The definition of love varies depending on the context, but most people agree that it’s an intense feeling of deep affection and attachment. Love can be directed toward a loved one or an object, and it can range from a platonic love for a friend to romantic and sexual feelings of attraction and lust. It can also extend to non-human animals, ideas, and principles like freedom or religion.
When you’re in the throes of love, your heart races, your palms get sweaty, and your mouth may be dry. According to Match’s chief scientific advisor, Helen Fisher, PhD, that’s because you’re experiencing a biological response. A study she conducted in 2010 found that when you fall madly in love, your brain activates areas of the brain responsible for focus and craving. These areas are rich in dopamine, the brain’s feel-good chemical.
You’re also likely to have a surge of other feel-good chemicals, including oxytocin, adrenaline, and dopamine, when you’re in love. These feel-good chemicals bind you to your lover and create a sense of euphoria, like the high you’d get from drugs. But unlike drugs, you don’t crash after the initial high wears off. Rather, the more you experience the positive and negative aspects of the relationship, the more you’ll grow in your love for that person.
Writing an essay about love requires a lot of research to understand the many different ways it can be defined and experienced. You need to write clearly and persuasively, using transition words like “moreover,” “in addition,” and “to conclude” to make your essay flow logically. Be kind and objective when describing the other person, but avoid sarcasm or cynicism.
When you’re writing an essay about someone you love, it’s important to determine if what you’re feeling isn’t just infatuation. If you can see a future with the person and have mutual interest, that’s a strong indicator of true, lasting love. Then you can focus on building intimacy and commitment. The result is a beautiful, healthy, long-term relationship.
