Rationality Amidst Emotion

Q: When do you say you are in love?

You feel butterflies in your stomach. Your knees weaken at his sight. You keep on looking around when you over hear his name. You smile like a crazy dog when he sees you too. You can't look at him when he's looking at you. You melt when he says, "Hi, <insert your name here>!" You died when he asked for your number. Your heart takes a leap when your phone beeps and his name appears. Your heart throbs fast while sending your reply. You can't help but check your phone every thirty seconds. You triple check your reply before sending, imagining every possible reaction if you are the one who gets the message.

You enjoy your text conversations. You don't delete the thread on your phone. You ask when you can hang out for the very first time. You feel awkward. You start talking. You had fun and decided that you do it again. And you did and did and did.

You always want to see him. You always want to talk to him. You always want to be together.

You started trusting him. You tell him those that make you cry. You tell him what makes you happy. You always remeber his name first when you are about to break down. You informed him first about the application that you aced. You always counted on him.

You get confused about what you really feel.

Yes, these are symptoms that there is something, that you are not simply friends, that you could and might be something more. But no, I'm sorry, this is not love -- not yet. It will only become love when you say so, when you choose to.

Love is better a decision than a feeling. When you make a decision, you do actions for that decision. You make efforts to make that decision right. You do not care if you are not happy anymore. Because you value the person more than what you feel. For who knows what would happen if the feeling is gone?

A: You choose to whom and when to fall in love.