Picture this. Your crush is outside of your window, playing "In Your Eyes" by Peter Gabriel on his boom box, or I guess in this day and age, he would be playing "Yellow" by Coldplay through his car's stereo.
Now, burn that image and never think about it again. Some of us are trying to have fun, only incorporating love into our busy lives by living vicariously through actors on movie screens whereas others wish for something like that in real life. The truth is that no love is or will ever be like a fairy tale. Every love story has flaws. The sooner hopeful romantics recognize the beauty in being a hopeless romantic, the sooner they will find the love they seek in life. There will, however, be those who never find the one true love they've been dreaming of ever since they were old enough to watch romantic comedies. Why is that? Maybe because their idea of love has been molded by growing up watching feigned romance between two people paid to play their respective roles on television screens, rather than real-life couples. But, in these shows, characters pride themselves on being unique and not being able to find what they want. We follow them through their struggles, relating it to our own. Alas, not all of us have a script to follow that leads us into the arms of our loved ones.
We claim we want love, but are we sure? Along with the happiness, comes the tears; along with the joyfulness, comes the heartbreak. Are we all emotionally mature enough to handle something of such grand stature? Let alone, if we don't love ourselves, how would we possibly have the capacity to love someone else? We are ready to jump headfirst into something we are not truly ready for. We expect too much out of relationships, given the bare minimum effort we put into them.
Do we even have time for love? School is the time to get a degree, to make lasting friendships, to join clubs and to go out and just have fun. One should not let their lives get consumed and tainted by things we seek out from those of the opposite gender.
From a girl’s perspective, our hearts yearn for Leonardo DiCaprio or even Shah Rukh Khan. But how exactly would we react if men like these entered our lives? Awkwardly and embarrassingly, I’d say. Your books falling will not lead to an attractive man stumbling upon them and picking them up for you, offering to take you out the following night, nor will a piece of jewelry you’re wearing get stuck to his clothing, resulting in a marriage within the next month.
Wake up. These things just don’t happen in real life. Stop sitting around and waiting for them to.
Chuck and Blair?
Derek and Meredith?
We chase after these toxic ideas of love, acting as if these characters didn’t go through Hell and back for years just to end up together at the end of the series for who knows how long. I’ve known many people who desire nothing more than a “Chuck Bass” or a “Blair to their Chuck," yet they forget crucial details such as how many times one cheated on the other throughout the years. But hey, whatever happens, happens, just as long as they end the episode with a moving quote, referring to themselves in the third person.
This fantastical love might be for some, but certainly not for me. I'd like to believe I'm a realist, and as a realist, I'd like something real. Until that's within my grasp, I'll stick to living vicariously through actors and actresses on Netflix, knowing that television and real life do not always coincide with each other.
