Exploring the origins of ‘LOVE’ in my humanity

 ---- When the world kisses me with love, I kiss it back with love

In the past few days, some events have sparked my thoughts on "love." What is love? To me, I believe love is about care and dedication. Care is a simple thing that can have profoundly touching effects in certain situations. For example, when Zhang Yumo noticed signs of sadness from me on social media, she actively messaged me privately to express her concern, leaving a deep impression on me. As for dedication, I once asked my mother if she would sacrifice herself to save someone, knowing it would cost her life, and she replied, "If it were you, I would." Her words deeply moved me, perhaps the purest expression of love in human nature.

I often say I "have no friends," meaning I lack childhood friends who grew up with me and whom I could meet offline regularly. Despite this, when I think back to moments of distress in my childhood, there was always someone to comfort me in time. And if not, I would confide in my mother, who would wholeheartedly stand by my side and support me unreservedly. This was one of the rare direct expressions of love from her to me. In middle school, my classmates called me "Jia Zong" in eighth grade and "Zhou Ge" in ninth grade. When I entered high school and my grades fell behind, everyone just called me "Zhou." Despite the change in address, everyone's love for me remained unchanged. I found that everyone seemed to have been very nice to me (I don't know if it was because of my character or appearance). Even those who do not like me can give me the most basic respect. I am deeply grateful to all those who have helped me and loved me for more than ten years. It is your support that has made me what I am today.

I often say arrogantly that I am noble because I think that my nobility originates from the fact that I know that when I hurt others or make others uncomfortable, I consciously restrain myself from doing so. Even if someone "hurts" me in a certain way, I do not have the heart to "pay back" the same way to him or anyone else. I think this is also a rare glory in human nature, belonging to dedication. So I started to think, why would I be willing to "sacrifice" myself and reduce others' "discomfort"? I think it fundamentally stems from my heartfelt sense of reciprocation. When I was a child, my uncle was particularly good to me. Every time he came, I felt sincerely happy. Now that he has two children, the age difference between my younger cousin and me is similar to that between my uncle and me, and I sincerely want to treat them well, hoping they'll feel as happy seeing me as I did when I saw my uncle back then. At the same time, towards my relatives, I can love without reservation or restraint, which is precious. Unlike some people who, after receiving love, either do not cherish it or only see me as a tool. Our love for others comes from others' love for us. In this light, it seems that the pessimistic view of human nature may have the upper hand. In life, many people, without sufficient love, have dark hearts, selfish and eager to make others unhappy. When we watch movies or shows, we usually hope to see good people defeat bad people. Do real bad people watching these also want bad people to be defeated? Do they know they're bad? When they do something hurtful, do they feel no guilt? I used to think everyone could be as optimistic, positive, and pure as I was. But after seeing too many people and knowing too many things, I realize my thoughts were too naive.

Even though there are many things and people in life that contradict love, I still firmly believe that by expressing love and conveying love to others, we can fill the world with sincere love and drive out the bad with the good. I think of Rou Shi in Lu Xun's "In Memory of Forgetting," who refused to believe that others could do evil (His earlier works are filled with pessimism, but he actually believed people are good. Sometimes when I talked about how people deceive, betray friends, and exploit others, he would widen his near-sighted eyes in astonishment and protest, "Can they really do that? It can't be that bad, can it?"). Sometimes, when I hear about others hurting people, I also find it hard to understand. I once asked a classmate if he knew that his actions would cause others pain, and he replied, "I just want them to feel bad." This left me both shocked and disappointed. Nevertheless, I still believe that love is the main theme of our era. Being courageous is a prerequisite for being effective. To achieve love, I will strive to control myself in daily life, spreading goodwill and conveying ordinary yet great love.