Dear Auntie, how do you know if someone loves you?
Ooh, good question! đ
So what do you feel? What is your gut telling you? This should be your first indication of how a person feels about you.
Iâm assuming youâre talking about romantic love…because as a teen-anger, youâre probably not concerned with whether your mom or dad, or brothers or sisters love you….but are probably more concerned about what âthat someone specialâ thinks about you.
Here are some things that can help clue you in:
Pay Attention! How does the other person behave, what do they say, and do when youâre together? Do they…?
- Open up and be vulnerable with you?
- Want to spend time with you?
- Ask about your day?
- Trust you?
- Help you when you need it?
- Show respect for your views?
- Include you in decisions?
- Show affection?
- Look at you?
- Like to talk about the past and future with you?
- Take a stand for you?
- And one of my favorites….Make you feel good about yourself and help you become the best version of yourself?
As you move through life, youâll discover there are many kinds of âloveâ. Here are a few:
- The âCrushâ â where youâre crazy attracted to another person. In one word: INTENSE, where everything is imagined as being magical, where nothing can go wrong.
- Being âin itâ – you have other feelings that may go beyond infatuation. Having fun and doing stuff together. Basically itâs trying each other out, which might build, or not, into something else.
- Healthy Love âSo, the reality is that being in love and staying in love does take work, which may not sound so dreamy, but itâs reality. Continued work and patience are part of this equation.
Of course thereâs a lot of in-betweenâs I didnât mention, so if you want to get nerdy about it, you can look up Richard Sternberg, or John Alan Leeâs theories on love. See what else you can learn from the wonderful world of the Internet. đ
Still confused? Well, aint love grand? The good news is that your We R Native community loves you.
With love,
Auntie Manda
