Right from the beginning, people are exposed to what a perfect love should be. From Romeo and his beloved Juliet to Cinderella and her prince, the illusion of perfection in love surrounds us throughout our lives.

We have all dreamed about that fairy tale romance. We knew the “reach for the stars, cannot sleep, cannot breathe, head over heels” feeling would fall into place when our knight in shining armor swept us off our feet.

No matter what age we are or what period of our lives we are going through, love and relationships encompass our lives, whether we want them to or not.

Back in kindergarten, when the most important thing was art class, romance was not at the forefront of our minds. Every now and again we would giggle as we eyed that cute, blonde-haired, blue-eyed boy sitting at the next table making paper snowflakes. Wanting to grab his attention, you would decide to throw a glue stick in his direction, but that it could never go much further than this because you would not want to get his “cooties.”

The next awkward stage is our middle school years. What a sharp contrast with grade school, since in junior high, crushes become a public affair. All our close girlfriends knew everything about our love interests, and actually served as our personal secret agents to document his every move, for back then we did not have Facebook to stalk our crushes. This was the age for sparking first romances, typically starting at a dance where all the girls wore poorly applied multicolored eye shadow and hoped their crushes would ask them to dance. This often led to the awkward first kiss, perhaps involving the tangling of braces.

In high school, things start to get serious. Relationships in high school must be broken down into two categories: either “exploring your options” or “high school sweetheart.”

“Exploring your options” refers to those who date numerous people hoping to find themselves. Most in this category could easily spread their time between friends and an occasional fling.

On the other hand, you could be in the “high school sweetheart” category, which could be viewed as lucky or as a curse.

In this category you had a steady boyfriend for most of high school. This allows teens to connect with another individual on a deeply caring level and discover what skills are needed to make a relationship work. Others argue that by committing yourself to such a serious level of commitment you miss out the typical “high school fun.”

High school is also the time when some begin experimenting with their sexuality.

As for the definition of love, it varies depending on which category you fall into. Those in the “exploring your options” category might say love exists and that they will only experience it “when they grow up.” As for the “high school sweetheart,” they are experts. They believe they are just that – in love.

No matter what group you belong to, I feel it is safe to say the majority of high school students acknowledge that love exists at such a young age, but its definitions vary.

Now in college, people tend to use a combination of kindergarten and high school experiences, in a more mature environment.

Once again, many choose to explore their options. We’ve all heard stories about parties, alcohol and sex; and to an extent, we know it is not far from the truth. There are those who will follow that path until they find who they believe to be “the one.”

Others experience the kindergarten first-love jitters leading to teasing as an ultimate form of flirting. Crushes come back, butterflies flutter in one’s stomach again while love becomes a light, fluffy illusion.

The funny thing about college is that so many claim to find the love of their lives here, but in such a large, diverse, fast-paced environment, how feasible is it to find “the one?”

The point I am trying to convey is, no matter what our age, love, romance, attraction, relationships (call it what you want), are always surrounding us.

From your first crush in your art class, to the bad-boy hanging out by your locker, to your new flirt in the back of the lecture hall, love is all around.

– Contributed by a member of the News Staff.