Angelica Kalogeridis ’15 | Staff Writer

James A. Baldwin said, “Love does not begin and end the way we seem to think it does. Love is a battle, love is a war; love is a growing up.”

Baldwin was right when he said love is a growing up. Love is not for the simple-minded girls of today’s society who define themselves by the love of another and are unaware of the true meaning of love. We all have the capability of expressing love, but who is to say our motives are correct?

Especially leading up to February 14, too many girls judge their beauty, originality and attractiveness all on a guy’s opinion of them. If you are loved by a guy, you must be beautiful. But if one does not, you feel shameful, and almost unworthy of love. This lack of self worth can be a heavy burden, that often haunts us. Will we ever be loved by someone?

It’s these deep thoughts that cause girls to be so self-conscious. The problem with modern society is that girls are often labeled by the attention they receive from boys. This is what is wrong. Whether or not you have “man candy” shouldn’t define you as a person, let alone cause so much pain. But the female brain makes this factor almost inevitable.

It is our human nature to want love. To feel the care and desire from another. To have someone to cuddle with, a best friend; someone to listen to us. We crave attention, and sometimes will go to a great extent to find it. We lose respect for ourselves when we sacrifice anything and everything for love from another, and as result allow ourselves to be used.

But we have to remember that we are in high school. This all feels like it is the end of the world, but it’s not. When we eventually do find our true love, none of this pain will matter. We will be head over heels, awe struck, and completely fulfilled. We need to learn patience. To be patient for this love to find us, instead of searching for it ourselves.

Ultimately, there is no reason to feel depressed or sad. We all are worthy of love. No boy can give or take that away. We should be defined by the love we give, not that we receive. Girls need to realize that how we treat others and ourselves is much more important than how any guy treats us. There is someone out there who needs our love: a friend, a parent, or a sibling. So take yourself out of the equation, and look upon others this Valentines Day. Find where the love is needed, and supply it.