These photos are quite old already. I had it for SLR's promotion for their Open Photoshoot Activity, so I don't have content for the photos. I would just like to post this with the thought that popped into my mind after my jog this morning, and I kept seeing that DJ reading unsuccessful love stories of millennials and some other videos on my facebook feed, then I thought of what does love means for me and how it has been misconceived for a lot of times.

As a teen back then, I got confused about love and infatuation that's why I had a lot of heartbreaks and my friends know that. It took me a long time before I realized why it happened that way. I realized that I was too young, decides too impulsively, very emotional and still not aware of myself. For me, to love others is to love yourself.  kasi how would you give love to others if you don't actually know yourself and paano mo ibibigay sa ibang tao ang wala ka sa sarili mo. You cannot give what you don't have. It's knowing what you're capable of giving.  (Step 1. love yourself, Always!)

Love is something else. It's not the boy/girlfriend relationship lasting for years and breaking up after all or getting married and getting a divorce. Love is misconceived for attraction, affection, and attention, but it's something beyond that. It's beyond a male-female relationship. kaya feeling ko "i love you" is very gasgas na sentence for the millennials, without really meaning it. I only really say that sentence unless I mean it. You don't go around the city, see someone attractive or meet someone that has a potential to like you and tell them you love them right away so they'll tell you they love you back. It doesn't work that way for me. How would you tell you love the person, if you don't know him/her? If you would ask your grandparents or your parents, how they lasted together? they would say it's open-mindedly understanding the person, knowing the person day by day, building trust, unconditionally giving and they are each others best friend. (take time, slow it down.)

For me, love is knowing the person, see his flaws and all his unlikely traits and still being able to understand why he is that way. Love is when you're miles away and still feel the excitement as if you're together, not seeing each other for a long time and still feels the same as if you last saw him seconds ago. Love is unconditional, you don't love to receive back what you gave. Love is listening to endless stories and rants and not get tired of it. love is when you could be yourself and not think about or be conscious of how you act. love is not having a perfect relationship but still giving off positivity to one another. Love does not get old. we grow old, but love strengthens as we grow old together. Love is being ready to spend a lifetime with that person. Love is when you enjoy corny jokes together. Love is giving support to one another, even more at each others weakest moments. Love is when you're each others strength. Love is when everything falls perfectly, even if you don't try so hard to make everything seem perfect. Love is when you let God mediate the two of you.

Love is a choice. 

Photos: TJ Lamang

Carpe Diem!