Falling in Love

The professors statement annoyed me at first. Why would she assume that we all know what falling in love felt like? It’s like the world expects that by a certain age everyone must have that experience and if you don’t you need to start worrying.  I wanted to say “No, I actually don’t know what falling in love feels like.” Sure, I've had crushes, but there has never been a boy that has fully captured my heart, swept me off my feet, and all that other flowery stuff Shakespeare rambles about. No professor, I don’t know what it feels like to fall in love.

     But later, I remembered something. I remembered walking into an unfamiliar place in an unfamiliar country, completely out of my element and not knowing what to expect, and I remembered the open arms of those children I can’t stop talking about. I remembered how they immediately and unconditionally loved me before I even knew how to love myself. I remembered how happy I was during those 10 days, and how excited I get every time I think about the fact that I get to go back again. So I think maybe I was mistaken. Although it was not the romantic kind found in Shakespeare’s sonnets that the professor was referring to,  I think I do know what it feels like to fall in love.