LOVE = Something you know what you are doing
CRUSH = Something you have no idea what and why you are doing!
(Ohk...I m finding this confusing!!) Lets put it this way...A crush is similar to having an infatuation. You like the person for superficial reasons. Whereas love is deeper and you can't really explain why that person attracts you so much.
So how do we tell if it's an aquaintance, friend, crush or love?
Just follow the following steps:
1) Ask yourself why. Do you love that boy 'cause he makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside or because he's on the football team? Does that girl make your heart flutter because she's sweet and understands you or because she's a popular cheerleader? Think about it.
2) Figure out why they like you (if they do like you, that is). Is your love a good person who wouldn't hurt you for the world or is he/she someone who dates you 'cause "your body is perfect and would dump you as soon as you gained a few pounds"? Ask them or stuff the front of your shirt with some cotton and see what happens.
3) Do you feel genuine affection for this person or are you using them as an escape route? Say you just got dumped by someone. You meet someone else who you automatically think is the ONE. But you're probably just fooling yourself because you haven't gotten over your last boy/girlfriend. Take your time, assess the situation, and determine whether your affection is real.
4) If you talk on occasion, or at school you wave in the hallways, this person is most likely an acquaintance. You are comfortable enough around them to put yourself out there for a little bit. You can casually converse, but it's likely that you don't get into deep conversations about emotions. For girls, most of us just ask about love interests, etc.
5) If you spend a lot of time with them, help them with problems, or even know some personal things about them, this person would most likely be considered a friend. If you feel open around them and you're not afraid to really talk to them, that's a good sign. This person is also probably a friend if you know that they like talking to you too. For guys, you do the guy handshake thing. For girls, you hug as a greeting and a goodbye.
6) If you're very friendly with them, offer to help in any way, or notice physical attractions to this person, it's likely that they are your crush. A lot of crush characteristics come with physical/emotional attractions, so this is an obvious sign of your affection.
7) Depending on the circumstances, if you're in a relationship with this person, it could be love. One of the best ways to tell if you're in love is if you put them as a very big priority in your life, and mean it. For example, if you are willing to share something special with this person, it could be a sign of love. Depending on what your idea of love is, you should be able to tell how you feel about this person.
Being in love is an exhilarating feeling, and it has the potential to become real love. Being in love is like the hook for the opportunity of real love to present itself. When you are in love with someone, you feel very attracted to the other person, in several different levels: physical, mental, emotional and yes, spiritual. From getting to know the person with whom you are in love, real love has the opportunity to flourish.
Real love, unlike an infatuation is realistic. Real love is a complete acceptance of the other person, and of oneself. Because if you can't love yourself, who can you love? Or who will love you? Complete acceptance does not mean that we don't find shortcomings in the other person, as that is not possible, we are humans and we are not perfect, we all make mistakes. Complete acceptance means discernment with no judgment. It means that we accept the whole package just as it is, without trying to change the other person to meet our every need.
Real love resides in knowing one another. In knowing what our strengths are, what our weaknesses are, what our potential is. In knowing these things we come to respect, and admire each other, and out of that, real love is born. "Love is the ability and willingness to allow those that you care for to be what they choose for themselves without any insistence that they satisfy you."
