Engl 1101 - Essay on Love

Justice Coleman

Dr. P. Fox

ENGL 1101

October 1, 2015

        Love is a simple necessity that every human being needs. We cannot go through life without ever loving or being loved. Although there are many different types of love, the most important of all is self-love. If you don’t love yourself first, you can’t love anyone else to the fullest of your abilities. Misunderstanding yourself can lead to misunderstanding others and these misunderstandings can lead to STD’s, abusive relationships, and unwanted pregnancies. If you don’t have self-love you will settle for anything and might accept a bad relationship that is detrimental to your health.

        According to Stanford University’s Sexual Health Peer Resource Center, 1 in 4 college students have an STD. And, statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention notes that although people ages 15-24 represent only 25% of the sexually active population, they account for more than half of the new STD diagnoses each year. This can be due to lack of self-worth. At those ages, we are just really starting to find out who we really are. If you don’t have a clear sense of who you are, you may end up with unhealthy partners. Who we may think will give us the love that we don’t have for ourselves, may actually be the person who can change our lives forever.

        Abusive relationships are situations a lot of people end up in, but never realize how they got there. Girls and young women between the ages of 16-24 experience the highest rate of intimate partner violence; almost triple the national average. Maria Phelps, a survivor of brutal domestic violence and the blogger behind A Movement Against Domestic Violence, notes: “Self-esteem alone cannot combat domestic violence. A woman with high self-esteem can be affected by domestic violence, but I feel that the woman with better self-image will be more empowered to leave a relationship where there is abuse, and that is the important thing to focus on.” Although the victim may be in need of self-love, often times the abuser is also. Having love and respect for yourself can give you the strength to leave an unhealthy relationship and start looking for the happiness you deserve.

        Knowing and loving yourself can keep you out of a lot of situations that could have been prevented, such as unwanted pregnancy. Often times, girls and young women who have a lack of self-love feel as if they have to invest in sexual partners to feel loved. This mindset can be detrimental to the girl because they are often not ready for the consequences that can come along with having sex. When you have a shortage of self-worth, becoming pregnant can be hazardous for the mother and the child. Becoming a mother is an event that shouldn’t be taken lightly. Sometimes women may feel like aborting the child may be the best choice for their situation, reluctantly for the sake of their sexual partner/s. This can lead to even more long term symptoms such as anxiety, depression, and delinquency. Also, if the young women choses to keep the child not knowing and loving herself can keep her from being able to fully love her child.