In the amount of time that it has taken me to write, I’ve seen a total of fifteen commercials for online dating. All of these “free communication weekends” and “find your love today” can actually push people away from love. With another Valentine’s Day over, the one thing that I do like about this day are the half price sales. My only hope is that those chocolate hearts will still be in the stores for a few more days. Love is an interesting word and it comes with many definitions. We symbolize love through flowers, chocolate, gifts, and maybe a night out to the movies; but what I find interesting is how long some of my friends have had feelings for the same person for years. Take Julie, she’s liked the same guy for twelve years. Jackie has had feelings for a guy more than two and a half years. The difference between these two friends is that Julie’s guy knows, but Jackie’s guy has no clue. She’s the one friend that I feel for more than any of them. Mostly because she has held in her feelings for so long that I think that she may soon pop like a balloon. You can only hold in emotions for so long. Each of my friends likes different things about their love interests, but what’s surprising is how little time it took for Jackie to like her guy, who I’ll call Jimmy.

When I first heard about Jimmy it took only minutes if that to tell how Jackie really felt about him, most of the people who I know had spent years trying to figure out their feelings. Two of my cousins had spent more than ten years dating. Jackie took maybe ten seconds to find herself crashing hard for Jimmy. I thought at first that she was insane. They have nothing in common. Jackie is creative and loves to design. She’s a suburban girl. Jimmy is into running, loves anything health-related, and lives in the city. I could figure out that if this relationship was ever going to happen, even work. What could they possibly have in common? You know that glue that keeps the relationship going. Then I read about the fifth of a second rule.

The fifth of a second rule in love where falling in love can elicit not only the same euphoric feeling as using cocaine, but also affects intellectual areas of the brain. Falling in love only takes about a fifth of a second. The findings raised the question: “Does the heart fall in love, or the brain?” It must be since Jackie had seems truly stuck on this one guy. By activating different parts of the brain, we can generate stimulations to the heart, just like butterflies in the stomach. It seems that certain parts of the brain fall in love. To know that a person can walk across the street and fall head over heels in love for someone is amazing and it’s not all in your head, but it’s in your heart. It takes only seconds to know if you’ve found love. All the cupids in the world can’t argue with your feelings. There’s no need for the mind games or standardized tests to find out a person’s true intentions. Let’s face it if you get a chance for a date, remember he or she said yes. That means that they are already with you. Now it’s up to you to not mess it up. So listen to what the other person has to say and if you’re anything at all like my friend Jackie, don’t hold back. If you know how you feel that’s half the battle. Go for it and don’t let fear stand in your way from getting the love that you want.