Let's point out the obvious--our world is constantly changing and evolving, especially in the year 2016. The concept of change is most frequently applied in societal norms, everywhere. I'm not just speaking in terms of media or trends, but people themselves and their methods of thinking, too. The connection between media, trends, and humanity is in plain sight, but many don't turn a blind eye to it. I remember the thoughts I had as a young child as I would listen to the local and national news throughout my day: "Why don't they ever talk about happy things? Why are so many bad things happening?" As I've grown, I've realized that these bad things happen because of people who are only willing to support success in their own lives, even if that means irreparably damaging another's. I've also realized that acts of kindness, while not as few and far between as society wants us to think, often go unnoticed. That seems pretty backwards, doesn't it? I wonder if society has always been this way, or if it's a direct product of that constant change. If it is, then what changed to cause our greed and selfishness, and our abandonment of kindness and respect towards our fellow man? It seems to have fallen through the cracks, but I'm beginning to think that today's society may have a love problem.

A lot of people believe that human instinct is selfish and aggressive by nature--in other words, they think we're all naturally wired to be complete jerks. The popular theory has always been that we will only look out for ourselves, and that we thrive off of this. This actually couldn't be farther from the truth. A more than adequate amount of scientific studies have shown that people tend to think selflessly and for the greater good--the more positive something is for more people, the better. These studies have also shown that the problem with selfishness usually arises when we overthink things. We fill our minds with so many "what-ifs' and "buts" that we begin to think about only how one thing can benefit us alone. We overwhelmingly doubt and stress over these decisions we make, as miniscule as they may be--and we lose our sense of self-love in this action. The love problem begins with ourselves; there is a difference between showing self-love and being self-serving, but we often misinterpret the former as the latter. We refuse to accept and love ourselves, and that's the root of it. We are always unsatisfied, we are always finding ways to be unhappy with ourselves, and we're constantly feeling sorry for ourselves. In order to love others, we first must love ourselves, and that's something we can all improve upon everyday.

Our self-pity and dissatisfaction often creates a void that we feel the need to feel with material things (especially with all of the latest and greatest innovations this generation presents). We put any form of fulfillment and joy we can muster into pieces of plastic and paper price tags, often leaving behind the living and breathing souls whom we should be instilling our love into. Imagine if we invested all of the time we spent with our gadgets and items into people instead--how incredible of an investment it would be.

Hello, world--we need a quick reality check: You can put all of the love you desire into your cell phone or work or clothes or cars, but they will NEVER reciprocate that love.

Another reality check: People will.

Let's shake hands more. Let's have more intellectual and thought-provoking conversations. Let's make new friends. Let's hold the door open for those behind us. Let's laugh more. Let's cry more. Let's hug more.

It seems pretty hard to do those things with inanimate objects, doesn't it?

Let's invest our love in each other.

Let's give more love.