Editor’s Letter: Introducing ‘Little Love Stories’, a series

I think most of us are fascinated by love. When I was growing up, I adored fairy-tales and playing dress-up weddings with my little sister. As a teenager, I must have read at least a hundred bad teen romance novels. And then I discovered romantic comedies, an obsession I admittedly haven’t grown out of yet.

Real love, real relationships, are different. They are complicated, messy and they rarely end in happily ever after.

But love, in its many forms, is still pretty wonderful. The world can be a scary place. There are so many uncertainties, so many divisions between people and so much hatred. Relationships are something that we all have in common. Regardless of political views, social background or culture, love can be found everywhere.

I was inspired to start this series by The New York Times’ column ‘Modern Love’ and the 2019 Amazon TV series of the same name. It is a series that celebrates love, not a rose-tinted ideal but love that is real and raw.

I am looking for unconventional love stories, tales of unexpected friendships and stories about the love shared between strangers

‘Modern Love’ embraces the complications and messiness of relationships – and life. It recognises that love doesn’t always look the same. A love story doesn’t have to start with boy meets girl, and it doesn’t have to end in a happy union. Sometimes, a great love story can be fleeting, existing in a moment that one day fades to little more than a memory.

A great love story might not be romantic at all. Perhaps the purest, most beautiful love is that shared between friends. The first episode in the Amazon series was inspired by a ‘Modern Love’ piece on the beautiful friendship between a woman and her doorman.

For The Boar’s new series, I am looking for unconventional love stories, tales of unexpected friendships and stories about the love shared between strangers.

The first piece in our series, ‘Remembering the fireworks’ by Evianne Suen is a beautiful story about falling in love for the first time. It reflects on the intensity of infatuation and the emotions that surround questioning your sexuality. Evianne explores how love can fade and relationships can change, thinking about what could have been.

Relationships don’t always work out as we hope. Sometimes they end in heartbreak, sometimes people simply fall out of love. But, even if it is fleeting, love is pretty wonderful.

If you have a story of your own to share, please don’t hesitate to get in touch by contacting lifestyle@theboar.org.