I wonder if we should shift the way we talk about some things, the way we ask questions and thus learn about certain ideas; namely, love. I had a recent conversation with my little sister about boys, love and relationships. She wanted me to tell her what it means, what it feels like when you know that you love a boy.

My first instinct was to chop her in the throat and dare her to ever look at a boy, let alone love one but I also didn’t want to answer her question because I know that love is something so personal, something so unique to us and our experiences that no person should ever try to define it for us.

The only thing I can be certain of, I told my sister, is what love is to me and that my definition could be inadequate to her. In fact it should be. Cultural differences, personal experiences, friends and family all play a part in how we love, why we love and what we consider love.

The nature of love remains a contentious topic. And part of her journey into adulthood is to figure out for her self what love is and is not. Is there a concrete, universally acceptable definition of what love is?