The essence.

All of my closest friends, and some old readers of Musings may remember that Love Story is one of my favouritest (Yes, I know that’s not a word. But now that I’ve said it, it is.) novels of all times. It is my feel good book – the book that I can reread multiple times and the book that never disappoints me because I always, always feel the exact same way when I reach the very last line. It is the book that idealized love in the mind of a fourteen year old me, whose first brush with love was that book. It has none of the flowery language typical of romances, it has no sickening couples who suffer when their significant other gets beaten – and yet, the love story is one of the best I have ever read. It is a situation I could identify with, it is language I could identify with.

There is only one thing in the entire novel that, after I reached a certain age, I could never fully comprehend and agree with.

“Love means never having to say you’re sorry…”

Probably the most famous line from the novel, and probably the most false.

I don’t know where Erich Segal was coming from, or what he was getting at. From what little I’ve seen of love (mine and otherwise), during and after an argument, love hasn’t been about not saying sorry at all – in fact, it’s been about who says sorry first! It’s been about deep breaths and silence. It’s been about swallowing pride and admitting you’re wrong. It’s been about realizing that sometimes saying sorry may not necessarily mean you’re wrong, but that you care more about the other person than you do about being right. It’s been about thinking of all the wonderful things your significant other is, even if those very same wonderful things are what annoyed you enough to begin the argument in the first place.

But most importantly, it’s been about never ceasing to argue. Because seriously, when you think about it, that is the essence. When you think about it, that is what makes us, US. When you think about it, that is what makes us happy.