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Stop Everything You’re Doing: According To Science, Love At First Sight Is Actually Real

Love at first sight

We had noticed each other before, but never like this. The few times we spoke in class were professional, boring, staged. “Can I borrow a pencil? Here’s the attendance sheet. Do you know what time it is?”

Until my boyfriend dumped me, I didn’t even realized this guy existed. It wasn’t until tonight at the bar that I actually looked at him. The way the blue in his shirt brought out his crisp, cool, eyes. The strength in his shoulders. His carefree laugh. I concentrated on moving my hips to the music, and tried not to focus too much on the way he moved his hands when he told a joke. Or the girls he was telling it to.

It worked. Or I worked. Or the world and destiny and fate worked, and suddenly he walked past me. Time slowed down and sped up and I felt my pulse take flight as we made eye contact.

“Hey, fuck you.” I said.

To my extreme pleasure, his blue eyes widened and he halted in his tracks. I could see the way his gaze lingered on my shirt. The way his skin flushed and his mouth slid into an subtle smile.

“Can I buy you a drink?” he asked.

And that was it. It was love at first sight. Naturally. And according to our on-again-off-again friend, science, “love at first sight” actually exists.

If you haven’t experienced a moment like the one I had, I’m totally sorry for being “that girl” and gloating about how in looooove I am. But, you’re not alone. According to The Wall Street Journal, only 41 percent of men and 29 percent of women have experienced it. And hell, only about 46 percent of the population even believe in it.

So why have some lucky bitches gotten it, while others are sitting at home wearing pore cleansing masks and watching “Friends” with their cats? According to the WSJ, it basically comes down to three little things:

1. You have to think he’s hot.
Or be generally attracted to his appearance.

2. You have to think he’s cool.
Or at least like his personality.

3. He has to seem like he thinks you’re hot and cool too.
And he has to give off the vibe that he thinks you’re super.

And BAM! You’re in love. Now, if all goes well and both parties want to touch each other’s naughty bits and eat pizza in bed (read: love) you enter “the honeymoon stage.” This social-suicide stage will last anywhere from a year and a half to three years. During this time, the couple is completely high on dopamine, which is why they’re a total nightmare to be around. The same areas of the brain are activated if you’re in love and if you’re heroin addict so like, makes sense.

The weirdest part of this whole thing is that “love at first sight” is actually different than “lust at first sight.” So when all of your friends were like “no you just want to fuck him” they were WRONG. Sex drive is fueled by testosterone, whereas love is fueled by obsession. Healthy, all-consuming, let’s get married and stay together forever, obsession.

And what’s the key to finding that “love at fight sight happily ever after?” According to multiple couples, it’s just a matter of being open to it.

And by “open,” I mean your heart. Not your legs. Common mistake, ladies.

[via The Wall Street Journal]

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Rachel Varina

(yeahokaywhat) Aspiring to be the next Tina Fey, Rachel spends her free time doing nothing to reach that goal. While judging people based on how they use "they're" vs. "there" on social media, she likes eating buffalo chicken dip, watching other people's Netflix, and wearing sweatpants way more than is socially acceptable.

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