If you remember freshman English like I do, then you know that "Romeo and Juliet" is a story about a teenage girl named Juliet who falls in love with a player, gives everything she has to him, then kills herself because she couldn't possibly live without him.

This player, Romeo, wasn't in love with Juliet, though; he was just in love with the idea of her, like most teenage boys are. In fact, he was suicidal over Juliet's cousin 24 hours before he "fell in love" with Juliet. The entire time Juliet was sneaking around with Romeo, the guy she knows she shouldn't be with, the perfect guy is waiting for Juliet, but she won't even give him a chance because she's so head over heels in love with Romeo. This perfect guy is Count Paris, He is sweet, handsome, respectful, and has already won over her family. Juliet was just naturally drawn to the player, like most girls are, and she paid for that with her life.

We view "Romeo and Juliet" as this beautiful love story when really it's a guideline for what not to do.

Every day I see girls fall for the lying smooth talker rather than the sweet shy guy that has always been there for her, and it's about time this stopped. A Romeo is good for right now, but a relationship with him will ultimately end in heartbreak. You know this, but you still keep running back to a Romeo. Why? Because you're only thinking about right now, not the future. Romeo, on the surface, seems like a good guy, and because you like him, you don't question it. Deep down you know he's not the right guy for you, but you don't want to find out if that's true or not. When you date a Romeo, you're setting yourself up for heartbreak, and you know it.

Paris is the good guy that you always overlook. He's none of the risk and danger, but all of the love and stability. He's there for you through the ups and downs, unlike Romeo, who will bolt the second he sees trouble. Paris has won over the hearts of your family, whereas Romeo isn't necessarily even liked by your family. You never have to second guess with Paris because you just know he's the perfect guy for you.

I wrote all of this just to say, be careful who you fall in love with. A Romeo may seem great at the moment, but a Paris is great for life.