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Soapbox Time: Love is a choice.

Alright, I don't often get on my soapbox... Well okay, maybe I do. But this is a thought I have wanted to blog about for quite some time so you get to be my lucky listening ear.

I feel like the #1 topic of conversation with my friends over the past year has been dating in some way or another.

I hate it when I hear girls say that they aren't pretty enough for a certain guy or when they say that there is something wrong with them. There isn't. The truth of the matter is love is a choice.

I don't think I would be alone in saying that love is one of the most powerful forces in the world. In fact, I know it.  
  • "Love is a force more formidable than any other. It is invisible - it cannot be seen or measured, yet it is powerful enough to transform you in a moment, and offer you more joy than any material possession could." -Barbara de Angelis
  • "I believe in the compelling power of love. I do not understand it. I believe it to be the most fragrant blossom of all this thorny existence." -Theodore Dreiser
  • "I can live without money, but I cannot live without love." -Judy Garland
  •  "Love conquers all." -Virgil
Conclusion #1: Love is powerful. 

Yet, despite all of its power, how often do you hear love described as an unpredictable magic force? There is suddenly one spark that makes you fall in love with someone. 


I absolutely hate the theory of the spark that just magically happens when you see someone or go on a date with someone or kiss someone. I believe that the spark is there if you want the spark to be there. God would not create something as powerful and then have it exist contrary to agency. Love is a choice. Love is hard work.
  • "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." -James A. Baldwin
  • "There are those who do not marry because they feel a lack of 'magic' in a relationship. By 'magic' I assume they mean sparks of attraction. Falling in love is a wonderful feeling, and I would never counsel you to marry someone you do not love. Nevertheless-and here is another thing that is sometimes hard to accept-that magic sparkle needs continuous polishing. When the magic endures in a relationship, it's because the couple made it happen, not because it mystically appeared due to some cosmic force. Frankly, it takes work. For any relationship to survive, both parties bring their own magic with them and use that to sustain their love. Although I have said that I do not believe in a one-and-only soul mate for anyone, I do know this: once you commit to being married, your spouse becomes your soul mate and it is your duty and responsibility to work every day to keep it that way. Once you have committed, the search for a soul mate is over. Our thoughts and actions turn from looking to creating. "
    -President Dieter F. Uchtdorf



In other words, I refuse to let magic be the deciding factor of love. Love is a choice.

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