When Daniel Jones started the Modern Love column in 2004, he called for submissions and hoped the idea would catch on. Twenty years and over a thousand published essays later, Modern Love is a trove of real-life love stories.

Jones has put so much of himself into editing the column over the years, but as he tells Anna Martin, the host of the “Modern Love” podcast, the stories shared in the columns have influenced him, too. Today, he talks about three Modern Love essays that have changed the way he thinks about love and relationships.

Read the essays below:

One Bouquet of Fleeting Beauty, Please

Nursing a Wound in an Appropriate Setting

My First Lesson in Motherhood

How to submit a Modern Love Essay to The New York Times

How to submit a Tiny Love Story

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