This was written as an assignment for my grade 12 religion class, which I recently re-discovered. Interesting for me to read, to see how it aligns with that which I believe now, but likely boring as hell for others. Enjoy at your own risk.

When defining our philosophy on love, it is important to first define our philosophy as to what love is. To me, love is a deep respect and understanding between two individuals. It goes deeper than a friendship, deeper than idolization, deeper than lust. I do not believe that love conquers all odds, nor do I believe that you can only love once. I don’t even believe that it is only possible to love only one person at a time – in fact, I love many people in my life (assuming I use my own definition of love).

For some people, love seems to be their goal in life. If they do not find a partner, get married and have a family, they will consider themselves unfulfilled. Although these things are nice, I do not believe that they are necessary. In fact, I am closer to believing the opposite, especially when it comes to marriage. I believe that marriage is an old and outdated ritual, and there really is no reason for it anymore. Hundreds of years ago, it may have made sense, but it is now obsolete. Two loving individuals should be able to be together without a ring and piece of paper to legally bind them. In fact, I see marriage as a weakness in a relationship- almost as if those involved feel they need a contract to prove that they do love each other.

Some say that love is extremely rare, or that it only happens once in a lifetime. I hope this isn’t true, otherwise the rest of my life could prove to be loveless. Do I believe that I was in love? Yes. But again, this is according to my own definition of love. If someone else had analyzed the relationship I once had with somebody, they probably would have made a very different conclusion.

Although I believe you can love more than one person at a time, I would not describe myself as polyamourous. I believe that love is much like friendship, in that it is possible for it to extend to several people in your life simultaneously.