What does love feel like?

The age-old question of what love is and what it feels like is hard to put into words and has endless answers. Anyone you ask is going to respond differently.

Valentine’s Day, the national holiday for celebrating love, is the perfect time to explore what love really is.

Around 100 passersby on Marshall Street in mid-December answered the question of how they would describe the feeling of love. There was a variety of responses, and “warmth” emerged as a common theme.

Some people had an answer right away, while some people really needed to take a minute and try to put it into words.

Although most people thought of romantic love, some were also thinking about their families; some were thinking about overall love and kindness to others, even if those people were strangers.

Syracuse University freshman Marie Achkar said, “Once you start wanting to sacrifice–obviously, put yourself first, but once you’re starting to sacrifice your needs for [another person], and you want the best intentions for them, and you look at them and say, ‘I want what’s best for you,’ and I’m gonna do what’s best for you, then I think that’s when you know you’re in love.”

Although everyone views love differently, everyone deserves to experience it.

Love can be a positive or negative experience; it can be brief or last a lifetime. Love is universal.