How do you know you are in love?!

I have never been in love.
I can honestly, and truly say this....
I love people, like my mom, dad, brother and my Shady Baby (my dog), but have never actually been IN love with my counterpart of the opposite sex.

I see all these people who say they're in love, but yet I see so much stress and pain. Is that what love is? Is that what I have to look forward to?

People tell me that love isn't easy and I can only imagine. I have been a third party observant to many of my friends relationships, where they claim they were in love, but I felt like they were more in pain than anything.

So that makes me wonder, is there a difference between true love and being in love....is true love better? IS there such a thing as true love?

I can recount thousands of times my best friend has called me and has been upset with her fiance, however, she calls him, her true love because they've been together since high school.
But, if he was her true love, why do they fight, get upset with each other, and sometimes can't stand each other.....

This is all strange to me, that is why I have a strict rule, and my strict rule is that I will never say I love you, unless I truly mean it. That I 100% know it's real and worth the say and effort. That I want it forever.

-"love lasts forever"- *MJ*

B