Love

​Nobody loves a woman because she is handsome or ugly, stupid or intelligent.
We love because we love.

• — Honore de Balzac

This quote is a violation of all social constructs in the western world (maybe the eastern world too? I won't speak to that). Come on, we love who we love and it doesn't matter if they're smart or good looking? I mean... it's true but we all secretly hope it isn't. We all would rather believe that we have the good sense to fall for the genetic lottery winners.

And speaking of the genetic lottery, I find interesting is that up until quite recently there was only one going trend of beauty at any given time. It was "the style of the moment" and everyone had to get on board in order to be perceived as attractive. If you didn't or couldn't conform to the going trends, good luck finding clothes that fit you and thus, per society, someone to love you. And while this nonsense of “fitting in” continues to prevail against everyone's better judgement, I feel we live in a golden age of rebellion against a beauty myth and I credit the internet and social media.

With the birth of the internet suddenly we had a myriad of choices and we didn't have to adopt one thing, one look or one person even. We could be into something one minute and then another thing the next minute. The beauty myth couldn't keep up with the onslaught everyone changing their minds about what was "hot" or "current" or "fashionable” and it imploded. The internet essentially fed the beauty myth until it popped. And out of that explosion came millions of smaller ideas, rather than one big idea of beauty. Now, no matter what you're into, how you want to dress, what pronoun you prefer or what you want in your sexual partner, you can find a little online outpost of fellow practitioners. 
 
Social media is evil in many ways but ultimately that wide ranges of choices and exposure to the whole of the world should remind us that we love what we love. And we love who we love. 
 
We love, because we love. 

I think we should celebrate that.