This Valentine’s Day, many people may ponder the question: Why do we fall in love?

In the search for an answer, the solution is not as simple as one might think. The answer is not right under your nose but is many solutions rolled up into one.

In order to understand the phenomenon of love, one must first attempt to define the feeling.

“It’s just how you feel inside,” said Brooke Shoulders, a freshman in arts and sciences.

Overall, love can be best described as an action, not a feeling.

“Love is a total commitment to another person who shares your dreams and aspirations,” said Carolyn Aguilar, a nurse at UT Hospital who has been married for 27 years. “It’s totally losing yourself in another person.”

Psychologists offer a number of reasons for the occurrence of love. One is the attachment theory, which states that romantic love is a reenactment of the love felt for the mother. Another theory involves evolution. A species had to reproduce in order to succeed, but it was also willing to invest time and effort into protecting its children. Therefore, many believe that love enhances reproductive success.

As we all know, however, one must first be attracted to a person before they can allow themselves to fall in love.

“Initial attraction is often based on appearance,” said Sara Keiser, a junior in psychology. “The first impression one gets is mainly based on what they see. Beyond that, people may be attracted to other attributes of a person, such as beliefs, common interests and a sense of humor.”

After an initial attraction occurs, infatuation hits, and that infatuation may in time change to love because of the things two people share.

“There are many reasons why people fall in love,” Keiser said. “Among initial attraction, people have to have things in common, a proximity of some sort and reasonably similar beliefs. A person may have a strong attraction to another, but for real love to come about, it has to be based on something more substantial like common interests or moral beliefs.”

The old phrase, “opposites attract,” may come to mind, but in many cases relationships last between two people who are more alike.

“Opposites may be attracted to each other in some cases, but the phrase ‘birds of a feather flock together’ more commonly applies to real relationships,” Keiser said. “People tend to stick with what they feel most comfortable with, and that is usually someone similar to themselves.”

The age at which love strikes is a common debate.

Brittany Farmer, a senior in logistics and transportation, believes college students are too young to truly understand love and, thus, can not experience it.

On the other hand, some people believe that maturity leads to love not age.

“Love can happen when you’re 18 or 80,” Aguilar said. “Chronological age does not equal maturity. Love involves the maturity of accepting other people the way they are, making compromises and committing your life to one person.”

As hard as first love may be, being in love in youth is intense and unparalleled.

“Young love is wonderful, because it’s so passionate,” she added.

Despite what the movies may portray, love at first sight does not occur in real life.

“Love at first sight seems like it is mainly based on appearance,” Keiser said. “Infatuation at first sight seems more likely since love is a feeling that is developed over time. Someone may feel strongly connected to a person at first meeting, but the spontaneous feeling of love is not likely.”

Since time is the only true test of love, love must endure through happiness and pain to survive.

“In order to make a relationship work, two people must be willing to compromise,” Aguilar said. “They must first set goals together, then work to accomplish them. They must also share values, passion and dreams. Over time, the dedication for each other stays real.”