I think that the word love, and i don't mean eros, but brotherly love, is a tricky word. I think that this word often falls victim to being over used and never really meant. I also believe that love is not just a "feeling" or some thing you feel for people, but it has to have some sort of action attached to it. I feel that love can be expressed in words but it is often best expressed through actions.

Girls use love as means of gaining popularity. I see this so often, girls being all 'i love you' to their friends, because when you say you love them they feel all validated and known and it's like "yeah i love all my girls"... But really they just say that so that people will like them and want to be their friend too.  I can't explain that very well. I would just rather be shown love through actions like, taking a friend out to lunch, helping them write that essay they just remembered was due tomorrow, staying in with them when their too sick to go out. Love speaks volumes through actions.