Self discovery: Self-respect over attention

(Taken from Toksick Mag.) 
Model: Vickie Valenzuela; instagram: @gypsyvickie
Photographer: Jacquie Ray; instagram: @high_creatives
Clothes: Vintage pulls

Respect: admire (someone or something) deeply, as a result of their abilities, qualities, or achievements.
Attention: notice taken of someone or something. 

Sometimes I believe that I was born in the wrong generation. I was born in the wrong generation because I'm into that old-school love; I don't see a lot of the asking someone on a date, properly, and liking them for who they are. These days physical attraction is valued more than emotional attraction. I may sound "corny," but I'm just being real. I feel like the people in this generation are losing the ability to be in love because it is not taken seriously enough. Recently, my friend asked me to define love and I realized that was actually really hard. I could say say the dictionary definition of love, but there is so much more to love. I was really just listing ways to show your love for someone, then I had to stop for a second and say "I'm not really defining it, though." That was when I began to elaborate how love is not taken seriously enough in this generation, which is why it is so hard to define love.

When people say that they love someone, do they truly mean it? It is so easy to say you love someone, but it takes a lot more to mean it. Today, I could say I love this boy I've been dating for only two weeks and it would be no big deal (no, I am not actually dating anyone). First of all, if I've only been dating him for two weeks, the phrase "I love you" will never come out of my mouth. It can be shrugged off because I probably don't mean––I don't mean it at all, which means I should not be saying it. We've only been together for two weeks... How would we know what love is? In this generation, people think that once they start dating someone they've liked for a while, they are automatically in love. This is how a misunderstanding of love is developed.
This is how respect and attention plays in. Most people just want to have someone who will give them the attention they want, while others want someone to give them attention but that is not the main focus. The main focus is respect. I am sure we all want someone to give us the attention we want, but that attention is not worth anything if there is no respect. Keep in mind that anyone can give you attention, but respect is not given to you by anyone.


-AK

4 comments

  1. I completely agree with this! I also think that our generation is so obsessed with labelling everything. So on the one hand we call things love when it's not quite there yet, but then we do the exact opposite and refuse to call something a "thing" because that's not "cool" and it could easily dissolve the next day. I just think that if you want to be in someone's company and like chilling with them and being with them in a way that's not like all of your regular friendships, then you've got something special and I just wish our generation weren't so afraid of that sometimes.

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    1. You are absolutely right, our generation is obsessed with labeling everything. Hopefully things change; part of me believes it is all a part of maturing, but I am glad someone else gets what I am saying :) Thanks for reading! ♡

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  2. This is a very well written post. I think this generation still has a lot to learn, and love is one thing. Love is always misunderstood until you really experience what it actually is. Please keep writing, I loved reading this and agreeing to everything you said.

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    1. Thank you, I really appreciate it. I definitely will keep writing; I always have a lot on my mind, and I like using this space to write it all out. Thanks, again, for reading. ♡

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I will read all comments, and try my best to respond to most of them. I appreciate feedback and any suggestions, but I do not appreciate any sort of negativity that is posted.