Love?Infatuation?Obsession?

What is love?

What is infatuation?

What is obsession?

Do you know what true love is?

Do you know what an infatuation is?

How can you define that what you are feeling is really love and not infatuation or obsession?

• LOVE
  

According to the dictionary love is:

• strong affection for another arising out of kinship or personal ties love for a child>,
  
• attraction based on sexual desire : affection and tenderness felt by lovers,
  
• affection based on admiration, benevolence, or common interests <love for his old schoolmates>,
  
• an assurance of love love>,
  
• warm attachment, enthusiasm, or devotion <love of the sea>,
  
•  the object of attachment, devotion, or admiration,
  
•  unselfish loyal and benevolent concern for the good of another: as (1): the fatherly concern of God for humankind (2): brotherly concern for others,
  
• a person's adoration of God,
  
• a god or personification of love,
  
• an amorous episode : love affair,
  
• the sexual embrace : copulation
  

Love has lot of meanings. That's how the dictionary defined love. But, for me I will define love as an extraordinary feeling that you will not know unless you will be hurt. That's love for me.

We may have different definition for love because love is too broad. But let us remember that love is not only about SEX but also it's about the trust that you are giving to your partner and the faithfulness that you must give to your partner. Love is too complicated. It is complicated because it makes the world go round.

God gave his only begotten son to us just to save us from our sins. That's love. Love is sacrifice. Love is commitment. Love makes a person complete. Love is everything perfect and good that we think.

What are the differences of love, infatuation, and obsession?

• INFATUATION

According to the dictionary infatuation is:

• to cause to be foolish : deprive of sound judgment,
  
• to inspire with a foolish or extravagant love or admiration,
  
• the state of being completely carried away by unreasoned passion or love,
  
• addictive love,
  
• Infatuation usually occurs at the beginning of a relationship,
  
• It is characterized by urgency, intensity, desire, and/or anxiety, in which there is an extreme absorption in another,
  
• it is traditionally associated with youth.
  

Infatuation is just an admiration or an exaggerated love. You are infatuated to someone if he or she is the same with your interest. You will say that "I like him" or "I like her" because you see something different from his/her personality. Sometimes, infatuation was misinterpret. They say that if you have a crush to someone, for example a cute guy who is a member of basketball varsity team in your school is your crush, you can easily say that you love that guy without knowing that you're just infatuated with him. Let us remember that infatuation or admiration is different from love. You may be infatuated with a person because of his/her sex appeal. That's what youth of this generation define love; that love is how high or low your sex appeal is. Infatuation in short is only a "crush" or "paghanga" some personal interest.

• OBSESSION

According to the dictionary obsession is:

• a persistent disturbing preoccupation with an often unreasonable idea or feeling,
  
• broadly: compelling motivation obsession with profits>,
  
• Obsessive lovers believe that only the person they fixate on can make them feel happy and fulfilled,
• Persons close to the love-obsessed can also be greatly affected. Witnessing a friend or family member suffer from the disorder can be distressing,
  
• Obsessive love is a form of love where one person is emotionally obsessed with another.
  

Simply obsession is an unreasonable feeling where in you feel that you want to see that person over and over again, taking stolen pictures of him/her, aiming to get close with him/her, feel ill when he/she is around, an emotionally disease, stalking him/her all the time, knowing his/her daily chores, following him/her with your sticky or lusty look, in short if you are doing some in here you are obsess and you are not in love.

Let us be careful to define what do we really feel for another person. Remember that love is not a joke and a commitment is really not a joke. It is a serious thing. If you are in love right now, then make that person as your inspiration. Sometimes love started with infatuation.

- Carla Mae C. Isla

Sophomore, Malayan Colleges Laguna