I’d have to argue the best thing in the world is the shared feeling of love. The love between family, the love between friends. And the romantic love shared between two. Creating a bond and building something together, with trust, loyalty, and honesty. Love can be quite a beautiful thing. Love can impact how we view others, ourselves, and how we view the world. I’d like to say I’ve learned quite a deal about love after experiencing these kinds, from heartbreak to long-lasting romance, my current one still keeps my heart skipping beats. Enjoying every memory, and making plenty more. It’s a wonderful warm feeling.

I want to call it the best week of my life, where my SO and I took a week off of everything, and it was just us. It was mid-late summer, just as Michigan started to re-open. We had planned this even before the pandemic. I didn’t really find myself taking too many photos during our week together, but the one I took meant everything. We pulled into the mall parking lot, readying for some necessary window shopping. I found a spot with blank lines, and slowly shifted the lever into PARK. We were ready-ing our masks to head in, when our hands touched for a moment. A little tick, ticked in my heart. I wanted to hold his hand in mine. Instead of asking straight-forward like anyone else would, I asked, “Can we compare how big your hand is to mine?” I must have sounded childish. “Of course, dummy…” he replied with some chuckles. His voice was always really soft, it reminded me of the hum of a piano in bass clef. Maybe that was what helped me fall for him, that voice that could leave me smiling for hours. Anyways, we always liked to joke around with how tall he is and how short I am, like a cute little couple dynamic. We never really thought much of it until we linked hands. Just outside of the entrance to the mall, we sat together, with our fingers intertwined in a unique pattern, ghostly white, pale tan, ghostly white, pale tan… It was then I realized how warm he was. It reminded me of a cozy-campfire feeling. How soft he felt, despite the rough look on his hands. The ring on my thumb, barely grazed his palm. The soft sun peeking its way through my windshield, blanketing itself onto our pinkies. We had the air conditioner on, yet it was warm, he was warm, everything within the moment was just-- a nice cozy warm. I remember that his fingers were so lanky, he could curl them over my own, and reach my palm. Simple memories like this I’d cherish forever. I’d like to say we sat there for ages, or maybe it was just ten minutes. I’d never want it to end. “Ready to go? We’ve got a lot of ground to cover.” He asked softly. “Yeah…” As we gripped tight once more, we let our hands sigh, in relaxation, letting go. 

Moments like these, many wish they would never end. That would be the same case for me. Holding onto memories tells who we are as a person, the kinds of memories, the take-aways from these memories… They’re all there to tell what kind of person we are. Love is a great way of showcasing that. With my story, you could tell I view the world with a sense of feeling. Love, and the interpretation of love is a wonderful thing. Everyone should understand their interpretation of love. It’s unique and a way of learning how you understand yourself and others.