That’s the answer I received from a classroom of teenage girls when I asked them what love meant to them. 

I was astonished that anyone could associate love as pain. 

I was even more puzzled by the fact that the entire group of young girls felt the same way. 

I decided to ask the same question to a different set of girls … just to find out if this was a common theme among young people. 

The same answer resonated among these girls as well. 

To say I was taken back is an understatement. 

Although this realization pained me, it opened my eyes to how many girls, young ladies, and even women perceive love. 

It also made me ask another question. 

“Why do so many believe love is pain?” 

I soon learned, during the numerous conversations I started having around the topic, that the problem actually begins with each individual’s interpretation of what love is. 

What is Love? 

To the young girls and...