You are my favorite neuronal entanglement.
Read that phrase in a research paper last semester about the neural the basis of "love." When I look at pictures of my sons, I sometimes imagine all the areas of my brain that activate to shunt a rich network of blood flow. It would be an immense labyrinth that covers a vast spectrum of anatomical landmarks and nuclei, carrying tiny molecules that bring me joy, peace, fear, pride, and motivation. Scientists might not explicitly call it "love." They tend to prefer words like attachment, surge of chemical messengers, bonding, affiliation, or even addiction.
I've always marveled at how my body made room for them and created them, and I am still physically marked by evidence of their existence inside of me. Taking into account all the data currently available, I feel comfortable believing that they have also permanently changed my physiology with each glance, cry, outreached hand, glorious laugh, hug, spoken word, touch, angry outburst, joke, and wave goodbye. I wake up every morning grateful that they did.
Andrea is a physiology & neuroscience master’s student at Wright State University. She is shamelessly fueled by her affection for her sons & goal of becoming a medical doctor.
She used to be a photographer.