Labels Aren’t Romantic and Never Have Been

Too many make the mistake of directing energy toward formality or “making official” their relationships. As if listing dating-experience on a resume has gotten anyone a job, the misinformed forget that everything exists, that, in particular, love is more than words floating around facebook and gossip. Some folks walk away from a reality with bitterness in their stride because they never reach the point of wearing the title, “girlfriend”. They have not gotten the point.

Since when have labels been realer than something like a kiss or holding hands? If relationships are about “being with” someone then the definition indicates problems in giving titles the power to authenticate intimacy over anything else. A girl’s actions affect the emotions of her partner and communicate their being with each other to people (outside of themselves). Although being called “boyfriend” may cause a smile to break the boy’s face, the title’s meaning—which inspires the smile—comes from the gestures he expects of his girlfriend.  The value of labels depends on the existence or the physical expression of romance, but the experience of being with somebody never needs to be named.

This is for the lovers that tell their other halves, who are slow at making things facebook approved, that the latter takes the former for granted. These lovers take their mate’s reluctance personal and ignore the truth of affection in the romantic position of girl sitting on boy’s lap or boy customizing a Christmas card for girl. Late arrivals of titles reflect nothing other than the limitations of language. Words like “boyfriend” or “girlfriend” become forgotten easily, but the memories that existence, or certain types of person-person interactions, create memories that are timeless.