Topic Four: Is there such a thing as love at first sight?
I think the question is a little...imprecise. Love? What kind? Romantic love? Or any sort?
If we mean non-romantic, purely platonic love, then sure. I mean, I formed the deepest, most important bond of my life within the first five minutes of meeting the other person. I was eight weeks old. Senora Bernal likes to tell the story:
My parents brought me out of the house for the first time, over to the Garcia Bernals' for dinner. I was fitful and cried the whole time (apparently I was a fussy baby). Then, as an act of desperation, they put me down in Gael's crib next to him. He had the softest baby blanket, all blue and fuzzy. (It, sadly, did not survive an episode of food poisoning where Gael and I got bad hot dogs.) They covered me up with it, I reached out and grabbed a tenacious fistful of Gael's pajamas, and then went straight to sleep. From that point on, we were inseparable.
I love Gael more than anyone (not like THAT, sheesh), and it was love at first sight. Romantic love seems to be a whole different ball game. It's probably good that it's like that. I mean, think about it. If you're going to fall in love with a woman at first sight, what happens if you marry her? If you have kids? And then it all decides to fall apart because it was built on nothing? Now it not only effects you and her, it effects those kids, too. So, no. Romantic love at first sight not only doesn't happen, it shouldn't happen.
If we mean non-romantic, purely platonic love, then sure. I mean, I formed the deepest, most important bond of my life within the first five minutes of meeting the other person. I was eight weeks old. Senora Bernal likes to tell the story:
My parents brought me out of the house for the first time, over to the Garcia Bernals' for dinner. I was fitful and cried the whole time (apparently I was a fussy baby). Then, as an act of desperation, they put me down in Gael's crib next to him. He had the softest baby blanket, all blue and fuzzy. (It, sadly, did not survive an episode of food poisoning where Gael and I got bad hot dogs.) They covered me up with it, I reached out and grabbed a tenacious fistful of Gael's pajamas, and then went straight to sleep. From that point on, we were inseparable.
I love Gael more than anyone (not like THAT, sheesh), and it was love at first sight. Romantic love seems to be a whole different ball game. It's probably good that it's like that. I mean, think about it. If you're going to fall in love with a woman at first sight, what happens if you marry her? If you have kids? And then it all decides to fall apart because it was built on nothing? Now it not only effects you and her, it effects those kids, too. So, no. Romantic love at first sight not only doesn't happen, it shouldn't happen.