Falling In Love Is A Choice (And It’s Worth Making)

Although every love story is remarkably unique, the feelings always remain the same in the beginning. You never outgrow butterflies in your stomach or the way your heart skips a beat when you see that special someone walk into a room. No matter how many times you’ve been kissed before, a first kiss will always leave behind an intoxicating buzz. You’ll always know sleepless nights when your mind can’t stop creating perfect possibilities. You will want to be one of the sole reasons for their happiness. You decide you like that person, maybe more than you ever imagined possible. You decide it is a love story worth pursuing.

Falling in love is an intricately crafted tale compelling you to keep reading. Regardless of how many stories you have written with others before, each time is a new masterpiece. The spellbinding sentences draw you in and you lose any grasp you had of logic and reasoning. As the plot thickens, you’re left aching to see more words spilling across the page. Like a diamond thief cloaked in the darkness of night, they steal your heart and capture your attention.

There are all kinds of love in this world, but never the same kind twice — that’s why the plot is always different. Maybe you’ll end up taking spontaneous road trips with the windows rolled down listening to 90s music, or spend lazy Sundays on the couch watching sports and eating pizza. You could have genuine conversations at 2am on the rooftop or send each other silly selfies every night before going to bed. You might share inside jokes that make no sense and know some of their deepest fears.

Everyone appreciates a good storyline, but the characters are what make the story great. You get to know their traits, habits, and most importantly, their flaws. You learn about what makes them special and the experiences that have shaped their personalities. They aren’t always how we picture them to be and we feel let down or betrayed because the illusion we had of them is shattered. People are imperfect and if we have expectations of perfection, disappointment and heartache is inevitable. They could never possess every quality on our checklists and do everything just right. We are all drawn to things that are aesthetically pleasing, but we’ll never know the amazing things someone has to offer if we don’t care to discover what’s beneath the surface. Whether or not we search for something beyond the obvious is what makes all the difference.

We have this notion that love happens out of the blue — by chance, fate or destiny. That there is a perfect fit for everyone with minimal effort required, as if it is something entitled to all of us by the universe. Every love story begins with the work you are willing to put forth into making it a reality. Meeting people happens unexpectedly, but falling in love doesn’t happen without your consent. Your heart must consciously make a choice to let this person in — and that is the hardest part. Despite how terrifying it might be to put your feelings out there, you fail by default when you don’t make the choice to take a chance. The reward of possibly falling in love will always outweigh the risk of rejection and the regret of the unknown. Every single person in this world wants to be loved; every soul yearns for it.

The greatest love stories are secrets kept only by those who experience it firsthand. They are the ones that you write without a pen, the chapters in the book that is your life. Keep trying to cultivate that story, one that is Pulitzer Prize worthy; such a captivating piece, it makes all others pale in comparison. There are a multitude of things in this world that we settle for — love should never be one of them. Love is a decision, you have to want it and choose it for yourself.

It ultimately all comes down to this: we accept the love we think we deserve.