HOW I RESPOND TO LOVE AND HATE|| WEEK 274
When people talk about love and hate, most times they sound like dictionary definitions or what society has painted for them. For me, these two words are not just emotions but a reflection of who I am and how I live my life. Love to me is not something I say casually. It’s not a sweet sentence to make someone feel better. It is deeper. It is action. It is sacrifice. It is me showing up even when it is not convenient, giving even when it costs me, and standing by you even when it doesn’t benefit me.
If I say I love you, I don’t care if you are a man or woman, friend or relative, close or far. I go all out for you. I am the type of person who, if I genuinely say “I love you”, will treat you like family. I will defend you in public, correct you in private, and put you first without even thinking twice. My friends can testify that I am like that. I have given out things I needed just because I couldn’t watch a loved one lack. I have stayed awake at night listening to people cry over the phone when I was tired myself. I have put my own problems aside to help someone else smile again. That is what love means to me: not words, not promises, but real actions that sometimes even hurt me, but I still do them gladly.
Now when it comes to hate, I honestly wouldn’t say I hate people. Hate feels too heavy to carry in my heart. What I do instead is give space. If I feel we don’t connect or your energy doesn’t sit well with me, I won’t force myself into your space. I won’t pretend to be close to you either. I simply step aside and let you be. But that doesn’t mean I would ever wish you harm. No. If I saw danger coming your way, I would still protect you because at the end of the day, humanity comes first. I just won’t allow you into my personal circle again. You can be safe, and I can still keep my distance. That is how I manage situations where people might expect me to “hate” but in reality, I just refuse to share my space with them.
People sometimes judge me for being too extreme; either I love deeply or I completely block you out. But that’s just how my heart works. I cannot live in between. I cannot say I love you and not prove it. And I cannot pretend to tolerate you when, deep down, I can’t.
Love and hate have shaped my life in different ways. Love has made me stronger because giving and caring for others pushes me beyond my comfort zone. At the same time, it has also left me vulnerable because people take advantage of it. But I don’t regret loving because it defines who I am. Hate, on the other hand, has saved me from unnecessary drama and fake relationships. It helps me set boundaries so that I don’t lose myself trying to please people I don’t align with.
So for me, love is total sacrifice, and hate is complete detachment. I don’t play with those two words. They define the way I live, the way I relate, and the way I guard my peace.
