just words, or truth?

almost a flashback to this post here. i got off the phone and the first words that ran through my mind were "hi, i miss you." now, i say that a lot. like, tons. (people who know who they are can attest to this.)

most of the time, i think i really mean what i say when i say these words. if my life were a story (which... it sort of is... right?) then i think that would be one of the character's "wantings." i honestly don't think it would fit into the yearning, because missing someone's presence isn't really on the same level (at least to me) as yearning for that person. but the "wanting" would fit under the feeling of being needed slash needing someone, which would be the yearning.

all of this just gets me thinking. how much of what we say do we really mean? especially when it comes to love. english is the only language that doesn't have multiple words for describing different types of love. greek has agape, phileo, and eros--unconditional, brotherly, and passionate respectively. chinese has multiple levels as well--喜爱 (xi'ai: to like something, i.e. i love that movie!)，恋爱 (lian'ai: romantic love. pretty self-explanatory)，热爱 (re'ai: to adore somebody/something)，恩爱 (en'ai: conjugal love)，博爱 (bo'ai: brotherly love)， 父爱 (fu'ai: parental love)， 眷爱 (juan'ai: sentimental attachment to something/somebody)，笃爱 (du'ai: loving someone deeply... i don't even know). in english, it's just love. what does it really mean? there's filial love, unconditional love, lust, the list goes on. there are modifiers, but there aren't any really different words that describe the different levels.

somehow, authors and writers choose the right words (don't even. i know that's a pun, but don't even.) to express what characters are feeling. it's a hard thing to do, which is why we're in a class to learn how to do so. good luck to everyone as we continue writing short stories, i bid thee all good luck in choosing the right words to say.