love used to be something reserved for high schoolers and adults, something that my family would say to me but i would never get
i would never understand what it felt like to truly know you love someone, i didn't get why we all said those three words over and over

then i met someone and love was.. them
it was pink and bubbly and id never be able to push it down ever
it was holding hands and sparkly eyes and shared smiles and whispered promises of forever
but all good things must come to end.

love was then something distant and far away
it was something to be pushed down and hidden away, something that was seldom ever felt

i got worse.
i met someone who was also doing worse.
love was then shielding them from all the bad things
it was holding them through a panic attack and sticking by their side no matter who or what they hurt even if it was me
it was trying to put someone together again even if i was broken and it wasn’t pretty at all, it was delicate and brittle and it was hard

oh, how wrong i was!

love is your mother pulling you away from your laptop screen and tucking you in at 2 am when she finds you fell asleep doing your homework again
it’s laughing with your friends about the smallest things and it’s your sister hugging you goodnight everyday; it’s your dog getting excited just to see your dumb face again
it’s the sky painting your favorite color at sunset when it knows you’re watching
it’s the wind blowing behind you when you’re running
and it’s so so so beautiful