Am I too young to fall in love? Is love the same as lust?

It’s definitely possible to feel attracted to and affectionate toward another person, even at a young age. No one but you can define the feelings that you have. The capacity to love is something that all human beings, regardless of age, can experience.

There are a lot of different kinds of love—romantic, parental, platonic. Mostly, love is feeling emotionally attached to another person. You want to be close to and share things with that person. You want to understand that person and have that person understand you. You want to care for them and have them care for you. Romantic love usually comes with a physical or sexual attraction. You want to hold, touch and sometimes become sexual with that person.

Lust is more about feeling physically or sexually attracted to a person but not necessarily emotionally attached. Lust can sometimes turn into love. Often, when two people are first getting together romantically, they have a really strong physical connection. When two people fall in love, a deeper, more intimate emotional connection forms.

When you’re falling in love, it’s often tough to tell the difference between the two, especially if it’s the first time you’ve experienced such intense emotions. This is where it can be helpful to talk to a trusted adult about these kinds of feelings. Ask a trusted adult what they think the difference is or how they knew the difference when they felt each one. You don’t necessarily have to talk about your own feelings to learn about other people’s life experiences.