L-O-V-E. Whether old or young, they say everyone experiences it at least once in a lifetime. I speak to a variety of people – male and female, from 15 to 52 – about what it is to find and to feel love.

I explore the attitudes towards young people and love: is it possible to fall in love young? Or is love just for the mature and wrinkly?

How old does a person have to be, to be considered “seriously” in love? At what age does a relationship start to “count”? How old do two people have to be, to really know what love is? To know they want to spend their lives together? And to be ready to?

PUPPY LOVE.

Unfortunately, the love felt and declared by young people often falls on deaf ears. It is doubted, belittled – even laughed off.

It was Donny Osmond who first sang about “puppy-love”: the term used to describe the infatuation felt by hapless teenagers, toward their object of affection and desire.

A lot of people I talked to, believed that people so young aren’t mature enough to know what “real” love is. They know what lust is, but don’t have enough life experience to fully appreciate the true meaning of true love.

“True love? During a person’s teens? During their younger years? Impossible. That isn’t love – just fixation. And a hell of a lot of hormones.”

“As for teenage boys, and indeed young men, they have no idea what they feel in their heart – only what’s in their pants.”

“My brother has got himself a little girlfriend. They’re only 16 though, so it doesn’t really count! I’d say it’s during a person’s late twenties when things become the real-deal.”

GOING THE DISTANCE.

“Of course every 17-20 year-old thinks they’re going to marry their first boyfriend or girlfriend …until they move on to the next one! The guy will get bored and the girl will go on to kiss other frogs.”

~ “If you marry on the strength of puppy love, you’ll end up leading a dog’s life” ~

Today, it’s rare for two people to meet, fall in love and stay together until ‘death do us part’. In this day and age, young people aren’t encouraged to settle. Instead, they’re encouraged to ‘play the field’ – meet and experience all kinds of people.

Some people stick with their first love in the fear that there is no-one else out there for them. They settle in the content feeling of only wanting and needing the other person. Others stick with their first love because they believe they really are ‘The One’.

“If you’ve found the person you’ve always dreamed of, or finally got it together with the one you’ve always wanted, and know you have a good thing going, why wouldn’t you want to settle? Why can’t you plan on staying with them forever?”

“YOU’LL JUST KNOW”.

~ “If it’s real, then you’ll just know. Love is not a “maybe” thing. You know when you love someone” ~

Ah, the “you just know” line. Hmm. Not exactly a lot to go off, is it.

How will anyone ever know? After all, love is not tangible: it’s a feeling. Arguably, one of the best feelings in the world. Love makes the world go round, right? So when it comes to other people’s love, how can one person possibly judge another?

Maybe you’ll never really know. Maybe the proof comes when you both share the same address. Maybe it’s when you’re walking down the aisle together. Maybe, it’s when your life simply wouldn’t make sense without them.

FINAL THOUGHTS.

Love comes in many different forms and happens to all kinds of people. Whether you’re 17 or 73, whether platonic, unrequited, all-consuming, or even of the puppy kind, one thing’s for sure: similar to the battle between giving birth and getting kicked in the testicles, knowing if and when you’re in love, is one of life’s great mysteries. There isn’t any proof to how it feels.

Perhaps age doesn’t matter. Perhaps there are 20-year-olds out there who have stronger relationships than people who have been married for 20 years. In fact I’m sure there are. Perhaps it is those who believe young people cannot experience true love, who are naive.

Truth is, love isn’t just for grown-ups, but it sure ain’t child’s play either. Maybe age really is just a number. Maybe it really is a deciding factor when it comes to knowing what’s real.

Then again, maybe it’s all just a load of bollocks, and you fall in love when you fall in love – whether covered in pimples as a teen, or not.

[This blog is dedicated to the person I loved at sweet sixteen and who I still love now, at the ripe old age of 20. He knows who he is.]

Like this blog? Tell me your thoughts on Twitter at @yessicajessica7!