For me, showing love is mainly physical. It’s spending time getting to know each other and not worrying about the other person judging me. It’s being myself around the person I care about.

When I receive love, I want people to show love for me the same way I show them. Hug me. Watch a movie with me. Be in the same room with me. Make eye contact with me. Smile. Show you enjoy my presence. Check up on me. Listen to me.

Listening doesn’t mean being on your phone with me as the background white noise. Listening means being present in the conversation. Listening means giving me feedback and advice based on what I said. 

If I can’t focus or stay on topic and you still listen to me, I know you care. You can even let me rant about whatever minor inconvenience I’m experiencing at the time to show me you want to be there with me. 

 Most people show love to their partner in a variety of ways. Knowing your own love language and understanding not everyone speaks the same love language is crucial to being happy in a relationship.

The goal in a relationship is to make other people feel loved, cared for and happy overall. If you don’t feel that in a relationship, talk to your partner about it. Talk to them about how you show affection and whether  they receive it the way you mean it.

Same goes for them. Be sure you communicate with your partner when it comes to feeling loved. 

Love languages mean the world to me. It’s one way I can feel fulfilled in a relationship. It’s reassurance; a reassurance that my partner will try to put effort in, to ensure I am as happy as I can be. And I want to do the same for my partner.

From my past experiences, there have been many times where I can’t be in the same room or physical space with my partner. Due to restrictions I didn’t have control over, everything had to be over FaceTime or Snapchat. It was rarely in-person. If it was, it was only at school. It wasn’t horrible, I just didn’t feel as loved and cared for as I wanted. 

When my partner and I are in person, I don’t want to feel like a task my partner has to cross off  the to-do list. I don’t want to feel like my partner has something more important to get to. I want to feel like you value our time together.

Communicate clearly and consistently with your partner. Ask what they need to feel loved. Share what you need. Communication is key to any relationship.