Stupid Love...3

When I watched the first segment of, This American Life, I could not stop laughing at Joe. I thought this kid was so ridiculous, but as I listened to his argument, I realized he did make some sense. In this segment I met people who took a stand on issues that end up defining who they are. Joe, was a teenager in Junior High School. Joe wanted to make his own rules in the place where no one sets the rules. Joe did not believe in love. He thought love made people act like an idiot and he did not want it to happen to him. He said, he would not even try it because love is not worth the pain. Joe would rather play dungeons and dragons and read books. He even told his mom, while learning hormones, he was going to swallow little Lego men who would fight his hormones and kill them. He understands his beliefs are different from the majority of the world, but he still stands up for what he believes in.

I was shocked when he said he did not love his mom. He was dead serious when he said this and it did not seem to bother him at all. Joe said, his parents were really nice people. But he still does not love them he just liked them. His mom still tells him she loves him. His mom thinks it is funny, how he thinks he knows everything about love, when he has not even tried it.

When I watched this boy on television I thought he was a joke in the beginning. I thought he was just young and was just going to a phase. However, he said, he gets annoyed when people say that. After, I believed it was okay he did not believe in love. But, when it got to the point when he said, he did not love his parents, I was in shock. I thought, how can you not love your parents. They are the reason you are alive. This made me think about what love really is. According to a dictionary, love is an intense affection for another arising out of kinship or personal ties, a strong feeling of attraction resulting from sexual desire, and an enthusiasm or fondness. According to this definition, I believe I have love for my parents. Yes, I have an intense affection for another arising out of kinship. I love my parents

After hearing what this boy thinks about love, I still believe in love. It is true people may get hurt in the end, but with hurt comes knowledge. You are able to learn from the mistakes you have made and take them into the next relationship. At times I just thought Joe was afraid of loving someone more than he loves himself. I think he is afraid they might not love him as much he loves them. However, with his opinion of not believing in love, it got me to think about the phrase “I love you”. This phrase is not as strong as it was before. It seems no one really know what love is. I have friends who go into a relationship and the next couple of days, they are already saying they love each other. I have a hard time believing this. People these days do not really know what love is. Love is not as powerful as it was before.

After watching this, I am not sure if I really love the people, I tell I love. I believe I truly do love these people, but now I am second guessing if I really know what love is. I cannot live without these people, and they have changed me for the better. They are always there for me and help me when I am down. These are people who I will always love. If they end up hurting me, I would not regret loving them because I will love them forever. They will always be a part of me and I think is what love is. I love these people more than I love myself. I hope this is love.
I am proud of Joe because he stands up for what he believes in. He knows since his beliefs are different from others, he is going to be made fun of. However, he is okay with people not taking him seriously because he believes he is right. I think it will be funny to see Joe in 25 years. I feel bad for Joe’s future girlfriends. I am not sure he is going to think like this in 25 years. However, his opinion made me think about my beliefs on love. Do I really love my parents? Is it culture that has rammed into my brain, I love my parents? Watching this made me think, Why does culture says you have to find your significant other? Why can’t people be happy by themselves? The American dream is to find your lover, get married and then have a family. Why is this the American dream? Why does the majority of the world strive for this goal? Why is it so important and wanted to find love? How do you know when you found love? Who really knows what love is? Why are we obsessed with love? Does love even exists? A little boy and his stubborn beliefs brought up so many questions within myself.