Okay, so this will be a very long post but hopefully you can read all of it! I'm going to grade 11 really soon, so as you know, I'm still a teen. I've been with this guy (same age as me) for almost 3 years and we go to the same school. We met in grade 8. We started talking because both of us really cared about marks and academics so we liked helping each other out. From that, we became really close friends and shared almost everything. We were always there for each other when it came to other problems as well. Then I found out that we liked each other, so therefore, we went out. We never really went on dates during the school year, because both of us always spent so much time on homework, so we talked a lot over the internet and phone. I didn’t mind that because during the summer, we'd spend time together often at the park and mall. As the days went on, we became closer and closer. He's pretty shy (I don’t mind that either), and I got my first kiss from him on our 10 months. We've never been in a fight, just small arguments sometimes when we disagreed on little things but we always found a way to work it out because we knew each other so well. One day last year during his soccer game in gym class a jealous player purposely tripped him and 2 of his front teeth got knocked out. I found out and stayed after school, waiting for him. I finally got to see him before he had to be sent to the hospital. I cried so much. I knew how sad he was, but he still forced a smile, tried to look happy, and told a few jokes in order to cheer me up. I found out that I truly cared about him and felt his pain. I really didn’t mind the fact that he had to get fake teeth or his looks got ruined, because I knew he was the same guy, and that’s all that matters to me. I’ll admit that I was infatuated at the very beginning, but I really do believe that I love him now. He’s always nice to me, and never did anything that made me feel uncomfortable. The problem is that after reading many answers on this site to questions by other teens, I saw that many people are saying that teens don’t know what love really is, and what they’re feeling is just lust. I do not doubt how I feel, because I know that this is something really special and is clearly different than my crushes that I had before. So after the long story my question basically is, can teens really be in love?

Yes I believe some teens can be in love... your a bit older than some of the other teens. You also have been with this guy awhile and have a deep bonding friendship which love usually comes from. You also state that you don't care about his fake teeth and that shows how mature you are that looks don't matter it is what is in the heart.

Of course teens can be in love. You, in particular, can associate the difference between infatuation and really loving someone. Starting as friends really put you both on the right track.

The concern with a lot of people here is that SOME teens confuse that infatuation and believe that sex = love, which it does not.

It sounds like you're both lucky to have each other. :)

Most of the other teens on here are not minded as you are. Love and real relationships are built upon friendship. You have built a very special friendship with this boy and yes it sounds as if you both do in fact love one another. It's a very special thing to have a love like that so young, you are very lucky.

A lot of the teens on here say they love someone but really they do not know them or they think they are in love because they are having sex or they think they are in love because they think that's what lust or infatuation is. You seem to understand what love is.

(I'm17) I agree with what you say love takes time to develop first he was your friend for a few years then you decided to become boy friend and girlfriend most teens these days jump the gun and arnt really in love and I also think it has a lot to do with maturety level most younger teens (13 14 15) don't really understand what true love is I hope all goes well with you and him

-awwbury

I do believe that teens can really be in love. Many adults think that teenagers have not experienced enough to know what love really is. But believe me, many teens do know what love is. You two have a great friendship. It's very clear that this is something special and I suggest that you two take it slow. Just continue to do what you two are doing and everything will be fine