As teenagers we are often frowned upon, if not mocked by our elderly when we say that we are in love. From their perspective it is virtually impossible to know what love is at this age, and we are often stamped with the claim that this is all just “puppy love” and infatuation. However I beg to differ. Of course when I oppose to this biased view someone brings up the all famous love story of Romeo and Juliet. Yes I admit it was extremely careless on their behalf to go to such drastic lengths for their other half, but on the other hand maybe they were playing the role of tragic heroes and sacrificing their love due to the constant war and hatred that did not allow their love to flourish to its fullest potential. What I’m trying to say is maybe Shakespeare was onto something.

In my generation love has received a lot of connotations both good and bad, gone were the days when a boy turned into a gentleman after he courted his beloved and then asked her father for her hand in marriage. Nowadays love revolves around the concept of one night stands, casual hook-ups and the all  famous friends with benefits (thanks Mila Kunis   for making that look realistic). That being said this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, if you think about it we live in a fast paced society where everything is made in order to fit our busy schedule from two min noodles to a quick espresso from our local barista to get us through the day. So maybe some individuals view this as a “fast paced love” that acts as an instant fix leaving you with the benefits of butterflies in your stomach and hot passionate sex without the heartbreak all acting like an instant fix.

They have a well- known restaurant in New York that provides singles with the option of speed dating, where single men and women are put in this rotating order ( a bit like a sushi train) where they talk their “dates” for 10 mins before moving on to the next one.  In those 10 mins the women pray and hope that maybe just maybe one of the answers will successfully answer the millions of questions that women ask themselves on a daily basis and perhaps restore their faith in fairy tales.

I’m a bit more old school and a strong believer in fate when it comes to relationships; the media places this unnecessary pressure on us that forces us to believe that we need to alter ourselves in order to look like Miranda Kerr or Brad Pitt in order to find our perfect match. I personally think it’s all about the timing, the place and the moments.

You can be as young as 17 or as old as 40 and yet there is no limit to when you can fall in love because if we think about it we as humans are wired to both give and receive love.

Which is why it surprises me when people from the older generation frown upon the concept of young love claiming that we aren’t mature enough to look past those rose-tinted glasses? Yes to an extent it is true that most couples do go through that “honeymoon phase” where everything from the way their eyes look in the sun to the way they snort when they laugh is adorable (which let’s be honest reminds me of peppa pig if anything) .

It is also true that during your 20’s you are discovering who you are as a person and stepping outside your comfort zone that up until then only existed of school and university. This however does not mean that relationships that started in your teens can’t be molded to fill this glossy and beautifully sculptured life of yours. It takes effort, time, trust and commitment no doubt, but I believe with proper communication and the occasional date night a proper relationship will not only allow you to grow as a person but will also allow to grow with each other.

To conclude I guess you can compare a relationship to a seed. At the end of the day if you water it right, give it the right amount of sunshine and ensure that no nasty grubs make their way to its roots there is no way the seed won’t blossom into a beautiful sunflower.