When You See Love

The first time I saw love, he was dressed in a button-down long sleeve shirt, Abercrombie jeans, and converse sneakers. With excitement, my eyes connected with his as I proceeded to greet him with a hug. The room was filled with the smell of cinnamon from sweet potatoes, freshly carved turkey, and hot rolls. My best friend, who is like a sister figure to me, introduced him. Meet “love.” He is in the army stationed at Fort Stewart. I found this so exciting and unexpected, yet I will share more about love and the lessons and blessings that came with him.

When I was not even looking, love came standing about 5’6, only a couple of centimeters taller than me. He had an olive complexion relatively lighter than mine, that complimented his jet-black hair. Most often his brown rounded eyes had a serious gaze attached to a sudden smile. He did not smile often but when he did, it was warm and genuine. Being a leader came naturally to love because he had a balance of responsibility and playfulness. Never did I think that someone with such a stern demeanor could be compassionate, but he proved me wrong. Lesson one, love does not come the way we think it should and most of the time when we least expect it.

Love, full of affection and comfort would spin me around in his sweet embrace whenever we met. When in his arms the smell of Axe men’s body wash would fill my nostrils, making me feel relaxed and at ease. His personality was warm and caring for those he loved but to those, he did not know there was a different side. When he was in a room with others, he came off as strong and silent. Yet when we were together, he always wanted to hold hands and would be very inquisitive. He would ask me some questions about how I grew up or what I liked to do so that he could know me better. One thing I liked most was that when I did not want to share, he would pry so that I would share my most honest opinion. The blessing love gave me was to help speak my mind and be bold.

For so long I struggled to say what was really on my mind but with love, I was transparent. Love was open and revealed just what he thought even if I found his thoughts offensive. Curse words will ring out of his mouth as he passionately argued his point even when everyone disagreed. There was trust that felt like it was always leading me to seek and be more forthcoming with myself. Love pushed and challenged me to grow and change, even when I resisted. He had a bad habit of spending lots of money especially if it were to impress me. Through love, I learned that I should always be honest and unconditional.

Patiently love encouraged me to grow and showed me who I really was. With love, I found boldness, and courage to speak my mind and remain honest. Love did not do everything that I wanted him to, but this taught me how to be unconditional in my giving of love. I did not have to always be right or like something but that was life. Yet, love never left my side.