Love & Lust

We will always ask a question. Am I in love? I once asked my friend, "How do you know if you are feeling for a person?" , "How do you know if he likes you if he doesn't say it out loud?" And my friend told me if you are feeling for a person you will want to see him/hear his voice/think of him all the time. But she didn’t really give me a good answer for the second question. Anyway, we always mix up love and lust. What is love and what is lust?

What feels like love to one person may be nothing more than attraction to another. We are always attracted by other's appearance... this and that. Some people fall in and out of love quickly. Some people are never really in love because they are probably just in lust. Love and lust can be really confusing when you are just a teen and when romantic love is a total new concept to you. You will easily get overwhelmed with all sorts of new feelings and social pressures.

"Lust is a very powerful, very intense feeling of physical attraction toward another person. Lust is mainly sexual in nature - the attraction is superficial based on instant chemistry rather than genuine caring." Usually we lust after people we do not know well/ we don't even know at all. When there is a handsome guy on the bus/ on the street, you may lust after him because of his appearance. It is very common for people to confuse lust for love. I checked out some articles online and found out that lust is about physical attraction and acting ONLY on physical attraction.

Love is about much more than that. Yet many teens or adults confuse an intense attraction for love. For teens, since feelings of attraction are still new so it is very easy to get the two mixed up. You may have the feeling of butterflies taking off in your stomach the moment you see your dream guy/girl. But that doesn't mean you love him. You are probably lust after him. You are having feelings for him but romance needs time to grow, it is not a sudden thing.

Lust is clearly not love. Love is based on more than just physical attraction. Sure, attraction is a factor because if that person is not attractive at all, you wont even give a shit. Love is based on caring, friendship, and trust. When you are in love, your lover is your best friend, the person you trust more than just a boyfriend to you and you are of course being physically attracted to him at the same time.

Love is a positive feeling. When you love a person you will have the feeling that once you hand your heart to him/her, he/she will treat it so good as if it is his/hers. When being in love, you should feel good. You shouldn't feel bad. Love is filled with passion and happiness.

Anyway, don't rush into anything until you are really certain about your feelings. Wish you luck! <3