If life were like a movie, happiness would be guaranteed. The girl and the guy would always end up together, karma would be served to the antagonist, and everything would be more than okay. The problem is, I don't believe life is like a movie. If anything, it's more like a TV show. People leave and come back, happiness is fleeting, and sometimes things don't work out — especially in the romance department. I've dated a lot of guys, but I've only ever had one serious relationship, and that didn't work out. If life were a TV show, the next guy I date will be the one. He will bring me flowers when I'm sad and tell me how much he loves me and why every day. He will know what I'm thinking before I do and he'll know how to get me to come out of my walls. We will go on the most romantic dates and when we wish on a star, we'll wish for each other. The problem is, life isn't a TV show or a movie. Happiness isn't the goal and it isn't promised.

Happiness is something we hope to run into on the journey. If we're lucky, it decides to join for a while. I've had a question that has been unsettling my stomach for weeks now. Is it wrong to want more?

I'm sick of settling and of getting heart broken. I want my perfect TV man. I'm not going to settle for anyone else, but I'm not going to pine after him and spend all my time searching for him, either. Happiness shouldn't be wasted. If my past relationships have taught me anything, it's that I need to believe in myself and find my own happiness or when that guy goes away, I will be lost.

That happened. The man I loved and I went on a break so he could figure out what he wanted, and I was an utter mess. I couldn't pick myself up off the floor for hours. The sound of the rain pounding on my dorm room window couldn't drown out the sound of my tears. I could physically feel my heart shattering, with no clue how to piece it back together. I didn't last 24 hours until I asked him to call off the break. I've never wanted to be the type of girl who didn't know how to be happy without a man, and it embarrasses me to think that for 24 hours I was. After that day, I swore to myself that I would find my independence again.

I found it in music and in friendship and in writing and in making something of myself. I joined the fight against sex slavery while in a fight with him (championsforindia.org). I imagined my future and the difference I would make — not what we would do, but what I would do. My school puts on the Nation's biggest a cappella competition every year. During a dress rehearsal, someone sang the song "Empire State of Mind." In that moment, when the lyrics talked about dreams coming true and being everything you want to be, I felt freedom and strength. I broke up with him during that song, because I knew that I had to be on my own in order to find my own happiness and vice versa.

I'm still learning how to be confident in myself and one day I might let someone see through the walls I've built, but I won't settle for anything less than my prince charming. When he does come, I won't be locked in a dirty tower with a dragon to be slain, because I'll have befriended the dragon and gotten myself out of the tower. It's okay to want more than what you've been given, but you have to look for it within yourself. Only then will happiness decide to journey with you.