In Final Fantasy VIII we see something almost magical happen between two of the main characters, Squall and Rinoa, a concept at the very core of humanity and our interactions between ourselves, that concept being love. It can be a force that drives us to overcome difficult obstacles in life, impower us manifest our desires, motivates us to risk our very own life for another's, as well as a force that blinds us to our own rationality. What is love?

Love comes in many flavors and is learned when we are very young. You do not love your pets the same way you love your mother, or your girlfriend. The emotional feelings that are associated with the word, love, are manifested in many varied ways and are directly related to the senses, brain and body chemistry, as well as environmental influences beginning from a very early age. In assessing what drives someone to love another we must begin by examining the first time love appears. As children and babies, we are dependant upon our parents for our needs, and in that need a bond between infant and mother is created. At such a young age the infant doesn't actually know what the literal word "love" is defined as, but rather it senses it. It knows that there is another human being there for it in it's time of need. It has been shown in scientific studies that children who were held and caressed as babies were more docile and less prone to conditions like Attention Deficit Disorder than babies that were abandoned or abused. Furthermore, as such isolated children grow into adolesence, the likelyhood of social traits appearing like a propensity toward drug addiction, depression, and criminal behavior increases. It is clearly apparent that love plays a vital role in how we develop both intellectually and emotionally as well as view the world.

To be young and in love is the most exhilarating experiences of life. This kind of love is charged with the electricity of desire coupled with self-driven motivation to express affection toward another often times, but not always, involving a sexual component. This kind of love can have an almost intoxicating drug-like effect on the psyche. People find themselves craving that touch from a lover and examine physical traits and subtleties including social demeanor of a potential mate to determine whether action is warranted. Sometimes true-love can be found during this time, but more often then not we seek out different individuals to discover someone we feel is the most compatable and explore our own sexuality.

Can you remember the first time you approached someone and asked them to go out with you? The first embrace? The first kiss? The first time you made love? These are the elements of this carnal aspect of love that set the stage of passion ablaze, and drive our ambitions toward the actualization of our deepest physical desires. This physical bond when not overemphasized soon pairs itself with an emotional bond that develops between two lovers. Some relationships expand beyond physical becoming deeper and more intimate creating a lasting true love that cannot be broken by just hormonal desire or interloping temptation alone. Yet true love seems so elusive.

There comes a point in a relationship where two people have grown so close to each other that they are willing to make a long-term commitment and put aside the flagrant coquetry of hormone driven youth. As a symbol of that bond lovers make vows of eternal matrimony before an individual of high influence or importance like a judge or priest. Marriage is a rather universal concept among human beings of diverse nationality and race. The belief is that when two marry they will be bound both here in life and thereafter as parnters forevermore.

In the history of civilization the controversy of homosexuality has created much division within our society between people strongly opposed and closed minded to this different aspect of love. Often people who choose to live this lifestyle are considered to be inferior or an object of ridicule and even religious condemnation. History has not always been kind of homosexuals, but contemporary society has begun to soften it's it's heart to these people, as with any group who was once oppressed like the African Americans and the Jews. Scientist have shown that there are chemical reactions, perhaps even genetic traits, in homosexuals that affect their emotions in ways that preclude them to desire the same sex. Regardless, whose job is it to judge someone unfavorably because they are different - no one has been granted this. Perhaps, gays and lesbians are just like straight people who have a heart and a desire to be loved and accepted by someone else, but they find that love within someone of the same sex. Should they be hated or even persecuted for this? Remember, if you are a straight person and you see a homosexual, then you are merely looking at a reflection of yourself in a different form. Yes, love does come in many colors.

Throughout history numerous artists and writers have personified the notion of love and expressed it's many faceted attributes in their work. Entire epics have been centralized around this theme and poets have composed thousands of verses in honor of it. Most notably, Shakespeare portrayed love and it's affect on people in his plays like Othello, Romeo and Juliet, and his many sonnets. Literature has played out this theme so many times.

What is it that drives us to seek the company of another? It goes beyond that of just chemicals and biological desire. It comes from within, that place inside of us that wants to create the emotion and to receive it back. True love transcends all strife and hardship. True lovers can never be broken. They are extensions of their own personalities and in each other they see each other looking back with a warm and comfortable feeling. To be human is to love and desire to be loved by someone. Many things are terrible in life, and at times it seems like we have an ill-fated existance, but there is love that is there to put those things in perspective and lead the way to happiness. Love has both fascinated and captivated man and woman since the very annals of civilization itself and will continue though all time into the future. Love is eternal.