Dear reader,

“Three words, eight letters, say it, and I’m yours,” the famous Gossip Girl line goes.

For those that are unfamiliar, the quote is referring to the phrase “I love you.”

I know you don’t know me, so allow me to explain my take on life. I’m a little all over the place (understatement of the year), but the good news is that when I love something I’m gonna love it big—like Texas big. If I love you, I want you to know how loved you are and to never have to wonder.

I recently made a trip to Ohio to see my grandmother, and it occurred to me that it could be my last time seeing her. It was difficult to have this realization and remain positive throughout the trip because, look, that could be my last visit with her, or I could be having these same thoughts ten years from now. And while I was stressing over my impending departure and the limited time I had, the most profound thought that prevailed was that I wanted her to know that I loved her.

My philosophy will always be to make the call, hug them before goodbyes and most importantly—no matter how upset you get—always say “I love you” before you leave.
Perhaps you might not have the same outlook as I do, but allow me to explain some of the benefits.

I love saying “I love you more” not because I think it’s a competition, but because to me it allows me to express my feelings. I love you more doesn’t mean I love you more than you love me. To me, it signifies that I love you more than your worst days, I love you more than any of your bad moods and I love you more than your hardest times.

I understand that saying I love you isn’t as easy for others as it is for me and that we can often express our love through our actions. Except I want to stress that sometimes just saying it will mean more than a box of chocolates ever could.

I wish more than anything, that I could express the importance of saying “I love you” to the world.

My friend, Annika Heinemann ’24, recently communicated that “I have kind of a hard time with [saying I love you]. I guess, it just can be hard for me to say it because I don’t want it to sound superficial. Not really true. But yeah, that’s like the logic in my head.”

I jokingly asked that if the two of us were to get randomly hit by a meteor as we crossed the street on our way to coffee, did she think that everyone in her life who she loves would know that she loves them. A silly scenario, but nonetheless my message was that we never know what is going to happen, so we might as well express our love.

I want you, dear reader, to also take this time and think, “Does everyone in your life know how much you love them?”

Life is such a beautiful gift, and I get we’re all just trying to find our way in the world. But for what it’s worth, I think that more than just Valentine’s Day, we should tell people we love them. At the very least, call up your grandma, and tell her you love her. Do it for me.

<3,
Loralei