Out of the highschool archives...

This was written for the Valentine's Issue of my high school paper in 2007. Oh how things can change in three years. However, some of my advice is very much still relevant, although things in my life really have changed. And oh, how cocky I was that I was soooo happy and thought everything was perfect. This is where the customary gun barrel in the mouth would be more than welcome.

Love, Actually
by JESSICA HICKERSON
News editor

To most people who know me, they know that I am a romantic. Perhaps not in the literal sense (to those who are currently in A.P Literature) but in the fact that I am very much in love (and engaged), and know how to handle such a thing even at such a young age of 18. Because of this, people often come up to me and ask “Jessie, how do you make love work?”

Well… it’s complicated. Really! There are things that you can do, and things that you can’t. It’s the same as having a best friend, since that’s what most loves are to their significant other anyway.

One of the things that you cannot do in order to make love work, is you can’t be selfish. If you’re selfish, chances are you don’t have many friends anyway, but if you have someone that you love, you might be taking advantage of them.

Even though most people think that a couple fighting means that they have a weak relationship, that’s not true what-so-ever. If you fight every once and a while (not that couples should fight ALL the time), it will teach each of you how to make up after fights. Also, it will teach boundaries, which are always good in relationships.

Don’t be shy with someone that you think you love. You should feel completely comfortable with them. There shouldn’t be uncomfortable moments of silence, since it’s natural just to sit, doing nothing, saying nothing.

So, keep these things in mind if you want to try and make love work. It can happen, I’m living proof.

In all honesty, after reading this, I completely agree with myself. Fighting some in a relationship is healthy, and it does indeed teach the things of which I mentioned. Similarly, the selfish thing works in all relationships, friends, family, etc. I love how the 18 year old me even got that catty little snipe in there about not having friends anyway, even though at the time my best friend was teaching me all about being selfish.

All that said, however, this article did teach the 21 year old me something I had forgotten. "Don't be shy around someone that you think you love." Well thank you, little Jessie. I've forgotten this. It's like little me was trying to tell people to not let it escape, and I mean not to.

In a more practical approach, I'm so very glad that I'm not this over confident in my thoughts anymore, and I'm SOOO glad that my writing and AP style has improved.