BC Exec Team
Photograph from Aneesa Wermer
If you’re reading this, “I've got a sneaking suspicion love actually is all around”...
It’s a cheesy quote from the 2003 romcom, Love Actually, but it's true. For this Valentine’s Day, the If You’re Reading This Boston College Team shares where they find love, and what it means to them.
When celebrating Valentine’s Day, many hone in on the holiday’s representation of romantic love. But it’s much more than that. Confining your perception of love to the boundaries of a romantic relationship limits you from experiencing the fullness of love’s potential. For if you look for it, love can be found everywhere. You can see it in the stranger who holds the door open for you. It can be found within the dining hall worker who asks every student how they are. Or seen in the car who lets you merge into their lane. It’s in the bus driver who holds the doors for you. And the teacher who asks how your weekend was. Looking for the love in everything has the potential to enrich your perspective of the mundane.
Let February 14th be a celebration of the beauty of love and the power it gives us to use human connection for good.
Love lives in all the in-betweens. It’s in the texts that say, “I’m thinking of you.” It’s in the kindness of strangers, the laughter of friends, the support of family. It’s the oven light left on in the kitchen for the last person home from the library. The bulb is a beacon in the dark, guiding you there. You bathe in the light, and warmth surrounds you. You are safe, you are seen, and you are loved.
Love gives grace, whether provided to ourselves or others. Love teaches us patience, acceptance, and compromise. It's in the willingness to meet someone halfway, even when the path is not clear. Love is being taken as you are. It does not seek to change you. It knows your imperfections and sees them as your strengths. Healthy love will catch you and hold you up when you feel like you’re falling
If you’re reading this, show some love today: to others, and to yourself.
The IfYoureReadingThis Boston College Team
Connect With Us
To follow IfYoureReadingThis at Boston College on Instagram, get in touch with our chapter, and learn about more resources available to Boston College students, visit our chapter’s homepage.
