Here are the ways to say “I love you” without saying it, according to random people on the internet
Rummaging through my archives, I reunited with a piece special to me. My 19-year-old self wrote, “Love is a word defined by people who have moved onto the next life, people who are currently living this one and people who have yet to experience life at all. It is a word with billions of meanings, provided all at once. Four letters that are put together to encapsulate thousands of different dreams and desires.”
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Much has changed since then, but I’m glad my view of love hasn’t. If you were to approach strangers on the street right now and ask them what love is, I doubt you’d encounter the same answer. Love is much like the sky—always changing, never the same but always there. While it would be nice to say or hear “I love you,” it isn't always necessary to understand it's there. In the same way love takes on various definitions, it also has many forms.
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With this, I asked, “How do you say ‘I love you’ without saying it?,” and I was met with a spectrum of answers.
Some replied with the words they say:
“Text when you get home <3”
—Alex, 21
“I do appreciate you a lot”
—Paula, 22
“I prayed for you/I’ll pray for you ”
—Ysa, 23
“You mean the world to me ♥️”
—Shannen, 23
“I got you this gift because it reminds me of you”
—Rico, 21
“I am grateful for you!!”
—Romi, 21
“Drive safely ”
—Bianca, 22
And others replied with the actions they take:
“Consistency and making time for each other despite busy schedules!!!! ☺️”
—Ram, 20
“*Surprises you with food!!!! ”
—Charlize, 16
“Cooking/baking for them! ”
—Robina, 23
“Making handwritten letters and doing acts of service without them knowing (like changing something in the house for their convenience or doing the dishes so that they don’t feel stressed seeing the sink)”
—Cheska, 21
“Dancing in front of them”
—Jules, 21
“Giving them a big, tight hug ”
—Mikee, 22
“Acts of random, spontaneous kindness (not limited to partners, can be friends also]”
—Von, 22
“Doing everything I humanly can to make her feel it”
—Pats, 21
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Perhaps there’s no textbook definition of love or how to express it. After all, to define anything is to limit it, and love knows none of that.
How about you? How do you express your love, and have you done it today?
Words Kyla Villena
Art Matthew Ian Fetalver
