Hug Me!

I believe in hugs.

There are people that love to hug and there are people who loathe being touched. I love to give, receive, and even see people hugging. There is a connection in a hug that is not found in any other physical act. A hug can be used to greet, to give comfort, or to show romantic love. Hugs are the most versatile expressions of feeling in the human repertoire.

I go home to see my family and we never greet each other with handshakes, or just smiles and nods. We always hug. I hug my mom, then my dad, then my brother, and finally I hug my dog. This is a special greeting that shows a familiar, loving relationship. When my family hugs me there is a lot of emotion behind it. My mom wraps me in a hug and it feels like home. I remember all of the hugs that she has given me before. When I see family members or friends that I have not seen in a long time, I always hug them. Almost every time I see a particular sorority sister that hates being touched by most people, I hug her. She has grown accustomed to my hugs and even asks for one when I forget about our standing hug rule. Hugs as greetings are the best way to show a friend or family member that you care and want to be close to them.

A hug for comfort is one of the greatest gifts one person can give another. One of the best hugs that I have ever received came the day that my grandmother died. I was a sophomore in high school and my family came to school to get me. I did not cry and the fact that my grandmother was gone had not even registered with me yet. We drove from the school to my grandmother’s house, where my boyfriend and the rest of my family were waiting. As soon as I saw the house, I started thinking about my grandmother. I thought about being at her house every Christmas. I could smell the cookies she had waiting for me every afternoon of middle school. I could feel her hug. I made it to the door of the house and I lost it. I started crying uncontrollably. I was not sad. I was furious. I was mad at God, my family members, and myself. But worst of all, I was angry at my grandmother. I was crying and screaming and my boyfriend immediately grabbed me and forced me to hug him. I fought him for a few seconds and almost broke away from his grasp, but he held on. I finally relaxed into his tight embrace and we cried together. He knew how I felt about my grandmother. He was trying to take all of my pain and sadness away from me and into himself. I am still not sure how long we were hugging, but when I was finally calm and he slowly let go of me, I was exhausted. I still felt horrible and I definitely did not feel like doing a cartwheel, but I felt like I could relax and that he was there to take care of me.

The same man who was there to comfort me when my grandmother died gives me great romantic hugs all the time. A romantic hug is a more intimate and more telling hug than the other hugs. I can look at two people hugging and tell if it is a romantic hug or not. Body language cues show a romantic hug. The huggers embrace more tightly and it is more of a full-on hug, chest to chest and pelvis to pelvis. The full body hug reminds the huggers of the intimacy that they share. When my fiancé hugs me I feel loved and I want to be close to him. A romantic hug can be more intimate than a kiss for me.

I am a hugger as often as possible and I try to give hugs to the masses because I know that a hug was the power to heal and the power to make you smile. So look out, because I may be hugging you next.