On the expedited conveyor belt to adulthood, we are trained to focus on our future and the actions that will get us there, and love gets filed into the “when I’m older” compartment of our minds.

If there is one thing that should not be pushed aside or done half-heartedly, it is love.

College students are commonly told that their college relationships likely wont last and that they have their whole lives ahead of them to find and discover love.

What a double standard.

If we, college-attending adults, cannot be trusted to believe in our emotions or know ourselves even when our words fail us, how can we be expected to choose a major or career path — equally important life decisions? Has love become an unnecessary distraction from the rest of our lives?

The way I see it, our priorities have become skewed. The more we focus on our career paths and ourselves, the lonelier we become.

We become so caught up in where we think we need to be, that the relationships we create are shallow.

We want no strings attached. We want no hard feelings. We want something to pass the time.

Why does it seem like no one is willing to risk everything for love? Is raw emotion so foreign and terrifying that careless hookups are the desired or the ideal option?

I have been advised not to waste my time and energy on one person, that a relationship limits my options to live and be a typical college student. I’ve been told that love and commitment should come later in life — as if love is a mundane adult responsibility.

But that’s not a sacrifice I’m willing to make.

Love can be beautiful if it is given a chance. It can blossom when both parties invest themselves completely.