Sergio+R’s+Final+AmEx+2013+Speech



= = =Title of Speech=

An America that Knows How to Love =Text of Speech=

It’s almost always insanely difficult for me to BS something this important. Even harder when Mr.Geib nominates me to go before everyone else. It wasn’t till this Monday night that I discovered that I had an immense love for…well, for love. It was a little past 11 o’clock that night. I had just finished watching the latest Nicholas Sparks movie; Safe Haven and was now lazily scrolling down my news feed on Facebook. After scrolling past a couple hundred pictures of people, some of who I do not know at all I came across a picture of a heart like thing. To be more exact, after maximizing the image I found to my not so shocking surprise that this 15 year old girl from Buena had just posted a picture of the heart like shaped scar she had just given herself. It was clear she had little practice with sharp objects, for it was incredibly sloppy. I asked myself, WHY!? Is she rebelling after her parents refused to let her get a TAT? Is she MENTAL? A fashion statement maybe? But no it was not in response for being denied her want of a tattoo. The caption for the picture read “for him” (sad face, hash tag forever alone)…(SIGHHH) Stuff like this really grinds MY gears! I mean this girl is cutting herself because some snot nosed brat who she thought she was in “LOVE” with apparently cheated on her, or according to the comments went to the movies with some other girl. It just infuriates me how dimwitted our generation appears to be sometimes. After having seen this I started wondering, is she the only one confused by love? Are there more people including adults that are also uncertain of what real love is?

It was then that I realized that yes many people in fact don’t know what real love is. Many are blinded by artificial love, in many cases that feeling of excitement they like to call love; to them love is nothing but a short spree of hook ups to please ones needs. This then made me realize just how often people divorce, how some people think changing spouse is like changing a pair of socks, simple but it really isn’t. Marriage used to be sacred ritual, but it seems today that it no longer has the same significance as before, and can be as regular as one’s biirthday. Not only that but people now seem to think that love’s value is shown in ones presents. The size of the diamond ring you give you’re fiancée apparently shows how much you really love her. I say BULL CRAP! And I ask myself, where have all the Petrarch inspired love poems gone? What happened about caring for the other person’s values? Are penguins the only ones that actually know what true love is?

I feel like people especially teenagers are just in love with the idea of being in love, they throw the word around as if they knew what it meant, when all they really care about is having sex. I hate logging onto Facebook and reading “BABE you’re my EVERYTHING. You complete me; I’d rather die than live without you. You leave me speechless”. What’s worse is that all I ever see young couples doing is sucking on each other’s faces, while hugging each other the whole time they’re together. Then a week later they seize to exist. TRUST ME, THIS HAPPENS ALL THE TIME!. And if you’re my age and you’ve managed to hold a relationship for more than three months, then much respect given! You see I used to have this theory about love. As cliché as it may sound I believe that one can tell they’re in love just by the way they looked at each other. I believed that when in love one’s stare would pierce into the other’s soul, suddenly knowing everything about them. Everyone else around them would appear to be nonexistent and all their focus would be on each other. It would be them alone holding hands prancing across a field covered in daisies blowing bubbles into each other’s faces, smiling as if it was just them and nothing or no one to bother them. It seems to me sometimes that the majority of humans have forgotten what love is really like, so I ask you to challenge that. Love should be about values and emotions not about sex and pleasure. Love should be like that burning romantic passion that Edward and Bella have for each other. When a person finds that special someone they should do everything in their power to help the feelings grow, to make it last as long as their hearts are willing to fight the battle with life, since time is love’s only enemy. When one says “ If you’re a bird then I’m a bird” they should mean it.

I know people may say that I’m only 17 and know nothing about love but I do know that it’s not just pleasing my needs, its spiritual interaction. In the America I want to grow old in, I want to see people know what it truly means to love. I want to see people being more committed to their relationship, and see less jumping around like if we were actually sluts and only in it for the sex.

So it's not gonna be easy. It's going to be really hard; we're gonna have to work at this everyday, but I want to do that because I want you. I want all of you, forever, everyday. You and me... everyday.” To live in an America that knows how to love for reals!

=Cite Your Sources= Sergio's ENORMOUS heart Sergio's brain Nicholas Sparks' "The Notebook"