DO-IT Defines Love

High school students use DO-IT Internet discussion lists to get help with their homework. Whether it's choosing a topic for a term paper, finding a useful Web site, or getting help with an algebra problem, DO-IT participants are there for one another 24 hours a day. Below is an interesting request, recently posted by a DO-IT Scholar.

• Hi everyone.

  For an assignment in a class I am taking, I need to interview people on their definitions of "Love." I would appreciate any definitions from you so I could compare and write a paper.

  Thank you.

Here are some of the responses he received, in the order in which they were sent.

• Love is unconditional acceptance of a person, in spite of any physical, emotional or spiritual conditions they may have. Take a look at I Corinthians 13 in the Bible for a definition as God would have us show love.
• I do not think I can top (this) definition of love. I guess I can try to add however, that God's love is known in Greek as agape love which is unconditional...God loves us no matter what we do and how awful we may be sometimes. Even when we are "out of fellowship" (doing something wrong) he forgives us, no questions asked...respector of persons (does not discriminate) He is only a respector...love is when someone accepts you no matter what race, religion, ability, disability, background you are or what you do or do not do. Love is also the unselfish act of giving without waiting to see what your return on your investment will be. Love is not the stock or the bond market. We do not invest to get a return. Our return are God's blessings and the blessings of knowing we are nurturing our relationships with one another whether we are friends, family or spouses.
• Love is the willingness to die for someone else because you care so much about them.
• I think, Love is caring deeply and with a passion.
• Love is something so complex and versatile that I don't believe that a person can begin to describe its many forms in just one sentence. No matter how deeply it is buried, each person has the ability to love within them - It may be love for a friend, or something deeper. It may be a sense of obligation to someone or something that has gotten you through a hard time or two. It's impossible to put into just a few words all the things that love can be.
• Why not, I'll give this a shot. Love is the one thing that everyone, in some manner, wishes to give and to have given to them. It has many forms and interpretations, varying across cultures, time, and even within a person's life. It is probably the topic which has received, across cultures, the most thought and effort to understand. How ironic then that it is probably the most elusive and difficult goal we as a species have and will ever try to attain.
• OK. Time for me to weigh in...Love is the quality of giving of one's life so that others' lives may be bettered-in other words, it's the way that we live as it relates to how we give (People just LOVE that rhyming stuff).
• My definition of love is: Relationship and honesty. You must trust someone to get trust back. It's a matter of trust, truth, and respect. You should respect others. It doesn't have to be based on a sexual relationship. Just love is enough for me.
• Love is 99% lust, 1% what everyone else says. I know people fall in love, it's just way overrated, especially teens.
• Hmmmm. I'm not sure how qualified I am to say this, but I'd say it has a lot to do with giving and work with, as opposed to against, someone. I don't mean doing stupid things because of love, but there are a lot of giving things that can be done that aren't stupid.
• Qualified? Perhaps we should discuss what a human being is. I don't think that a person who has lost the capacity to love is human anymore. And if you have the capacity you should be qualified to discuss it.
• Here are some of my thoughts on love: To keep your own thoughts and ideas out of the way when you are listening to another human being is the ultimate act of love.

  When you love you feel free and unguarded with the other person.

  But before you can love you must first risk.

  Makes life kind of tough doesn't it?

  Guess we all know what the alternative is.

When people think of using the Internet for completing school assignments, they most often think about exploring the World Wide Web for information sources. This example of a "survey" shows its power in gathering the opinions of others.