It's that time of year when everyone around you, or more like everyone BUT you, is falling in love, getting married, going on dates, and hoping that maybe this one will be the one to fulfill their dreams. Well, let me tell you that "love" will wait, "love" is work, and "love" is definitely a choice.

Reality check: When do we love? Or when do we think that we love? When it's convenient? When it's easy? When there is something in it for you? When everything is going the way you thought it would? What about when he/she says or asks something that, by your "rule book" isn't correct, or is offensive? Do you begin to question his/her love for you or your love for him/her?

When you've failed at trying to make love happen as many times as I have, you decide to give up all together and just live. You learn that love is so much more than that fuzzy feeling you get when your hand brushes his/hers on that first date. It's choosing to still take her on dates, even after you have won her heart. You learn that it's so much more than those late night phone calls that result in falling asleep in class the next morning, or missing class all together. Instead it's choosing to respect their curfew that they set for themselves and let them get their sleep. Love isn't complementing them only when they have their best face on and they appear put together, but it's truly seeing their beauty even when their hair hasn't seen a shower in a couple of days, and they choose to have a "no makeup" kind of day. It's choosing not just to listen to her but to actually hear her out, even if it's just complaints about her coworkers. It's choosing to let him express himself in what he's passionate about and not interrupting him with all your own nuances. How about stepping out of your comfort zone and doing what she likes to do, rather then always doing what you like? Love is a whole little of "you" and a whole lot of "them." Oh, I know y'all will like this one: apologizing first! "But I didn't do anything!" "She's the one that started it!" Exactly my point; it's choosing to be the first one to apologize, even when it hurts your ego and you know it was all his/her fault!

Love is a choice! Love is more than just a word. It has no meaning if it's not backed up with action. So in this season of pink hearts and red roses, let's show love just as much as we say it!