an insight on love

"love is a feeling you feel like you feel when you feel a feeling that you've never felt before"

Today, I am quite happy to be posting another update on my blog. Although at first I wasn't sure what to write about, I have come to a consensus. I know that throughout the year I'll probably have hundreds of opportunities to write about the things I am up to; such as cheering for football games, debate tournaments, fun things with my family, etc. Because it is summer and don't want to bore you with stories of "hanging out on a Saturday night", I have chosen today to write about love.

Now believe me, I am no expert on love. If you, like me, wanted to study the topic, you might google "what is love?". However, you'd most likely end up with lyrics to that 80's song, "baby don't hurt me, don't hurt me, no more".

When I was at EFY this summer, my teacher Brother McLay taught us a thing or two about love. He began by sharing the words of young ones as they explain love, which surprisingly ended up as great explanations. Here are a few that I found and enjoyed:

"When my grandmother got arthritis, she couldn't bend over and paint her toenails anymore. So my grandfather does it for her all the time, even when his hands got arthritis too. That's love."

-Rebecca, age 8

"When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different. You just know that your name is safe in their mouth."

-Billy, age 4

"Love is when a girl puts on perfume and a boy puts on shaving cologne and they go out and smell each other."

-Karl, age 5

"Love is when you tell a guy you like his shirt and he wears it everyday."

-Noelle, age 7

"You really shouldn't say 'I love you' unless you mean it. But if you mean it, you should say it a lot. People forget."

-Jessica, age 8

an answer I particularly liked was "Love is beauty. Love is pain. Love is all the sorrows and all the joys. Love is sacrificing yourself for reasons that are behond comprehension. Love is getting hurt and making up. Love is saying goodbye to someone because they need you to let go, even if it's the last thing you wanted. Love is every single feeling you have in your gut that tells you you're on the right track when you think about that person. But I hardly even know. Love is anything you want it to be. Anything that feels right, and sometimes wrong. Love just is" (and no, this was not a 4-8 year old)

Last night, some friends and I went to see the new movie "Charlie St. Cloud" (and yes, I recommend seeing it). This was not only a story of romantic love, but love between brothers. This movie is what has inspired me today for this post. Love cannot always be defined as romance, for it is often not so. If I were to define love I would say, "Love is when you sincerely care about someone more than you care about yourself." I feel like that sums it up in one sentence.

They say that a picture is worth 1000 words, so I figure a video is worth at least 1,000,000! This video is one that Brother McLay shared with us and I hope it touches your heart as it touched mine. Going off of my definition of love, I think this video sure fits!

The way he drops everything he's doing and runs to his dad with open arms as tears fill his eyes is pure love in my opinion. It is true and sincere, and it shows the love that the little boy has for his dad, as well as the love his dad has for him. As I watch this video I think of John 4:19 which says, "we love him, because he first loved us."

And now I ask you, what is love?

Why have I started this blog??

As the weeks inch closer and closer to my senior year, I have begun to realize how little I have documented any of my high school years. I often count on my mom to do this for me because I'm often too distracted to do it. However, I think (as well as most of us probably do) that senior year is the most memorable, exciting, and cherished year of all. I decided to keep a blog (and hopefully keep up with this blog) to document my senior year and all of the memories that I know I will miss so much.

Here's a little review of our last few years at Flag High...

Three years ago we walked through the doors of Flagstaff High School … Little freshmen with no idea what we were doing. We were eager to find our identity, or possibly to create a new one. We finally felt like "big kids". We were terrified of the seniors, and made sure to stay out of their way. We had no idea where the 400 hall was, or which teachers were not pleasantly placed on our schedules. We opened our lockers for the first time, and went to our first high school dances. Three years ago, we couldn't wait to be seniors.

Two years ago we walked through the doors of Flagstaff High School, thinking we owned the place. We weren't the babies on campus anymore. We were sophomores who "made the world go round" We were no longer intimidated by the upperclassmen. We still desperately tried to be the "top dogs" and couldn't wait until we were. We made new friends, and watched the old ones do the same. Some of us got our licenses. We went out on weekends, thinking we were too mature for those school dances. Two years ago, we couldn't wait to be seniors.

Last year we walked through the doors of Flagstaff High School as juniors. We flaunted it like the upperclassmen that we finally were. We began to realize how fast time flies by. We learned who our true friends were and laughed at all the memories we were making together. We dated seniors and made fun of the underclassmen. We started thinking about college, even though it still seemed like it was 10 years away. We participated in Varsity sports and went to prom. And last year, we couldn't wait to be seniors.

This year we will walk through the doors of Flagstaff High School as SENIORS. We'll get to play the "senior card". We'll wear camo, and officially rule the school. Everything we do will be our last- Our last sports camps, our last FIRST day of school, our last homecoming pep assembly, our last football game, our last family vacation. We'll start applying to colleges. We'll start to realize that in a year from now, we won't have mom to do our laundry and cook us dinner. We'll sign yearbooks and say our goodbyes. We'll pack up our rooms and start brand new lives. But most of all, we'll make this year the best one yet and cherish every moment we still have together.