No. That only happens in the movies.
I believe in attraction at first sight, but love--real love--only comes after you get to know someone well: their character, their beliefs, what they value, what they want in life, their heart and their soul. Is any of that knowable with just one look at a person? Of course not.
Real love comes from experience with a person, and experience takes time.
Thanks for the question.
Hear, hear, Wise One.
I do believe in love at first sight. But I look at it like being given a seed. You have to plant that seed, water and fertilize the seed and give it time to grow. Just like with a relationship, you can know that you have a person that you can love but you have to nurture that relationship, give the person your time and patience and see how the love grows. Now if you neglect the seed/love then it will wither away and die. You can give the seed/love too much and it can suffercate and die anyways. Or it can be a dud and it just doesn't grow. But occassionally all of the right circumstances are with you and your seed/love will blossom into a beatiful plant with a strong root system and will be healthy and vibrant. Now with all things, it will still need regular tending, but it will be strong and will be able to withstand some occassional not so great weather.
I agree with the seed analogy, but a seed is not love. A seed is "like" or attraction or optimism about a possible future.
I agree with Cary and his take on the seed analogy. I wouldn't say love at first sight is possible, but the potential for love? Sure.
It seems silly and overdramatic, but I knew there was something special and significant about my now boyfriend the day I met him. I didn't know what it was going to be then, but I saw something in him that made me pay attention. In fact, I remember thinking "Who knows, maybe he'll be my first love." then immediately chiding myself for being so hopelessly romantic. :P
Cary is right on with the feeling being one of "optimism", more than just a "eh, this guy is cool, cute and funny", you get a feeling like..."wow, I'm feeling that we're totally aligned and more compatible and comfortable than I've ever been on a first date...wow, this is weird".
I met a guy about 5 months ago (who I hope to be with long term, but, am trying to nurture slowly) where on our first date, we started finishing each other's sentences, had the same, unusual gestures, and random thoughts, and just an amazing "electricity" that felt like pheromones in overdrive.
Not just sexual physical attraction, but we each said later that it felt as though we had known each other for years....
I'm in my upper 40s, and I'll tell you, in all my life I've never had a connection like this. I was tempted to call it "love at first sight", and we both made the mistake of allowing this to go too far, too fast (future talk within a few weeks), and it got overwhelming and caused some fear and later hesitation.
Advice based on experience: Enjoy the feelings, but without raining on your own parade, acknowledge that if it IS love, or the potential for love, it will be there long term. No need to rush it. Enjoy getting to know him over time....and let it develop slowly.
Good luck! :)