Love is such a powerful feeling that many people can’t help but express it through music. From sappy pop ballads to heart-warming acoustic folk songs, there are plenty of ways for musicians to let their fans know how much they care.
If you’re writing an essay about love, it’s important to find a unique angle on the topic. Avoid focusing on the sappy, sugary side of love and instead focus on its more human traits. For example, if your new love interest’s habit of checking their Instagram feed at lunch drives you crazy, this would be a great trait to write about. This way, your essay about love will be more realistic and less of a sappy cliché.
It’s no secret that love is a complicated emotion, and psychologists and researchers disagree somewhat on how to define it. Some believe that love is a primary emotional drive, while others think it’s more of a secondary emotion that derives from the basic emotions of happiness, sadness, fear and hunger.
There’s no clear-cut answer to when it is “the right time” to say “I love you.” It depends on the relationship and whether or not the couple is ready to make a commitment. “There is no one-size-fits-all solution,” says therapist Sofia Robirosa. “What works for some couples may not work for others.”
However, a common consensus is that you should wait until your feelings have progressed beyond infatuation and you’ve developed mutual commitments in the relationship. If you aren’t sure that you have reached this point, a therapist or trusted friend can help you decide what the next steps should be.
Some experts recommend waiting to say “I love you” until you are in the same room together. Others say that’s not necessary in this day and age, as long as you can demonstrate your commitment through other actions. For example, some couples use video messaging apps such as FaceTime or Skype to say their first “I love you”s.
It is also important to note that you should never say “I love you” to someone who isn’t capable of loving you back. This type of person will only make you feel anxious and insecure about the relationship. “Before saying ‘I love you,’ you need to examine your own relationships with yourself,” says spiritual thought leader and chief communications officer for the Kabbalah Centre Monica Berg. This means getting radically honest with yourself, including your dysfunctional patterns and issues.
In a study, some participants were asked to imagine that they were in a fictional new relationship and were told “I love you” for the first time. They were then asked how happy it made them to hear this declaration. The results showed that men were generally happier than women to hear these three little words, and the happiness increased with the amount of quality time spent as a couple and the level of intimacy in the relationship.
