Young Love? Fake Love.

You know, I really hate it when people say that teenagers can’t fall in love. 

It’s absolutely ridiculous for a (questionably) able-minded adult to feel at teenage love. I mean, really? Is there some point in life when suddenly you forget what it once was to be young? “*POOF*, you’re an adult! Congratulations, you miraculously have a newer, more mature and all-knowing view on life! Now go and tell all those little youngsters what life is REALLY about, and how they have no idea what’s going on!”

Uhm, no. For some strange reason, I don’t think that’s what happens.

See, I think it happens like this: as teenagers – and yes, I include myself in this group whole-heartedly – we believe that we know everything. Once we’ve experienced something once, suddenly we know anything and everything that could possibly relate to this subject, and anything that could remotely relate to those subjects. We think we know things that we’ve seen in movies, read in books, heard about on Facebook. Yes, we are a very curious – and yes, we do deserved to be smacked upside the head every once and a while. We ARE young; we are going to make mistakes. (Doesn’t everyone?) But just because we don’t know absolutely everything about people and how things work doesn’t mean we can’t learn. It doesn’t mean we can’t understand. It doesn’t mean we can’t have true, real knowledge, experience, and emotions about things. 

This is where I think most adults get lost. “What? Teenagers knowing what they are talking about? There isn’t a certain age that you reach that suddenly allows you to truly feel and experience and understand. There isn’t a magic word. There isn’t some secret ritual. Call me crazy, but last time I checked it’s called GROWING UP. We are in the stage where we aren’t kids anymore, but we aren’t adults. We’re too young to understand, but not to old to do so. Too dumb to learn, too wild to attempt to teach. It’s ridiculous the restraints put on us as teenagers; do you adults remember your “rebellious” stage when you were young? When everything your parents said was bull, and everyone was out to get you because you were so uncomfortable in your own skin? That’s where we are now. That’s where you all are making it so much more difficult for us to live, where we are stunted in our growth because faith in us is a rare gift to find.

Anyway – focus, back to my original point. Love. This goes right along with the rest of what I’ve said exactly – there is no age where falling in love is appropriate, or right, or even sane. Falling in love isn’t a rational thing; when it’s real, it’s completely psychotic. (Did you know in the first stages of love – that stage when you can’t stop thinking about them, the honeymoon stage – that a scan of your brain would look eerily similar to that of a clinically insane person? Food for thought.) When you truly love a person, it changes you forever. For good or bad, that’s really up to you – but they’ll change you, alright. No stopping that, no matter how old you are. And yet – though the effects of love are the same, no matter your age – older people seem to think that teenagers can’t fall in love. Period. “You’re too young! You have no idea what love is!” 

So…when exactly are we supposed to figure it out? Is there a magic birthday that we hit that suddenly gives us insight to what love is? 

I don’t THINK so. (Guess I can’t be positive on that one, can I?)

The way I see it, love isn’t something that can be taught. You can explain and describe to your heart’s content; you’re not going to be able to explain it any better than I could. Until you’ve experienced it yourself, there is no damn way you’re going to be able to understand. It’s like trying to explain to a blind person what the color green is – it’s not possible. It’s just not. And yet, despite this conundrum, I’m sure there are plenty of teenagers who could better describe what love truly is than adults. 

Now, a lot of people - *adults, excuse me – will think this whole spiel was a waste of time. It didn’t change your outlook, didn’t affect you at all – I’m just another love struck teenager. (For your information, I am currently not love struck as I am writing this. Not even heart broken. Though I have been in both places, one a fair time longer than the other. Can you guess which? I’ll give you a hint: it starts with a “I’m” and ends with a “still scared to commit to a guy in case he tramples all over me like the last one”.) And I’ll admit, there are flaws to my argument; teenagers are more prone to faking love than adults. (However, faking love does happen quite a bit in the adult race as well. Quite a bit more than most would like to admit.) But, flawed or not, I unreservedly believe in love at any age – and I think you would do well to do the same. 

But then again, I’m just a teenager. What do I know, right?