But I just bear with all of it simply because I love them.

This piece is submitted in loving memory of Tabitha Ho. She wrote this for her English class when she was 16, shortly before she passed away a year later. She left a little too soon but her wit, contagious laughter and love for poetry and French fries will never be forgotten.

Love. When that simple word is uttered, what comes up in your head? Is it a picture of a guy and a girl held together in an embrace? Or perhaps a family spending quality time together? A girl happily playing with her dog? People who are devoted to God? Or two best friends shopping together? Or maybe even a homosexual couple gazing into each other's eyes? Yes, we cannot deny that love is indeed overrated. But it is also universal. I'm not here to speak as a person who knows a lot about love, for I am no love guru, nor do I know anything about love in the guy-girl area, or even the homosexual area. I'm just here to speak as a person who has experienced love. What is love, really? Can we really describe it? So far, I think there are two types of love. When you love someone and when you are IN love with someone. We have all experienced the first one, of course with our families. But I'm not sure if any of us have experienced the latter. Or maybe some of you have (sneaky, sneaky). One of the many definitions of love I would like to share with you is from the Bible which says:

"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes and always perseveres."

I suppose love is the only reason I pray to God when I don't feel like it, or fight the urge to kill my dogs when they don't stop barking, or share my problems with my friends, or help my parents when I don't want to or tell my sisters about my day when I know they're bound to criticize something, even a teeny-weeny detail. But I just bear with all of it simply because I love them.

The only thing I know about being in love was not obtained by experiencing that very feeling (unless you count having crushes on celebrities or people love), but through romance movies and novels and songs we are so often obsessed with. How is it that they are able to inflict these mixed emotions unto us?

All I have to say is, always remember to tell your loved ones you love them. Tell them every day. Let them know that they're appreciated and loved before it's too late. Also, always have a positive attitude towards love. Don't shut it out because you've had your heart broken.