love and other dumb things

I'm tired of people telling other people that they love them when they don't really mean it.

No, girl who sits behind me in Stats, you don't love me. I don't even know your name. You are grateful that I turned in your homework for you so you didn't have to get up, but you don't love me. I'm not trying to be harsh or whatever, but I am fairly certain you don't truly care about me. I know what you really meant, and I'm not offended by that, but sometimes I wish people wouldn't be so flippant with that phrase.

Don't tell me you love me if you don't mean it. Don't say something if you can't prove it. Those three words don't mean anything if you don't back them up. If you say you love someone, you're saying that you care about them, that you like to be around them, that you'll talk to them about silly things and serious things, that you'll cheer them up when they're sad, laugh with them when they're not, etc. etc. etc.  

If you say something like that, of that caliber, and your actions don't match up, it can be misleading and confusing and disappointing. With this random classmate, I know it's just something she said offhandedly and I don't really care. But there are times when it does matter and it sucks when someone says they love you but they just brush you off when you try to talk to them.

Personally, I'm very conservative with my "I love you's", maybe to a fault. It's kind of hard for me to say "I love you", because it means a lot to me. It's easy for me to say I hate people, jokingly, of course, because I really don't hate anyone, but with love I might actually mean it and that's what scares me.

I tell my parents I love them because I am not only appreciative of all they do for me but also feel like we mutually care about each other. I tell my close friends I love them -- maybe not a lot, but I think they know. There are other people I may or may not love, depending on the definition or the day. There are people I for sure think are awesome and I wish I could tell them, because I firmly believe everyone deserves to know when they are loved (truly), but like I said, it's not that easy. It's almost easier just to show them in other ways, than to let those three potent syllables slip out of my mouth.

I don't know. Saying "I love you" should just sort of seal the deal. You should know, when someone loves you, before they tell you. Saying it just solidifies it.