If you haven't figured it out yet, romantic movies do not mirror real life. At least, not for the majority of us poor, unfortunate souls. We grow up watching romantic movies such as "The Notebook," "Pretty in Pink," "Sixteen Candles," "Pretty Woman," et cetera; all are highly exaggerated stories of romance. Embedding far-fetched stories of love into our minds starting at a young age is toxic.

These movies about love are not toxic to one's imagination but instead to his or her idea of love and relationships. I love to watch romantic movies, but they leave me feeling so hopeful that some unfathomable love story will happen to me, that ultimately, they leave me in a state of hopeless romanticism. Maybe a better title for this article would be "why I pretend to hate romantic movies."

Here's the plot to the majority of rom coms: Some poor, unconventionally attractive, and/or hopeless person meets the person of his or her dreams, usually handsome, sweet, and ready to fall deeply in love with said hopeless person. Problems emerge because of their differences or their own infidelity. At the end of the movie, everything works out for the best, and they live happily ever after. PSA: this is not a typical real life love story. Unfortunately, real life is filled with more unrequited love stories than happily ever afters. A good eye opener for the hopeless romantics is "500 Days of Summer." This movie straight up tells you "this is not a love story."

The most disturbing aspect of romantic movies for me is the fact that by the end of the movie, the two people have accepted their love for each other despite what they've gone through in the process. We watch this same plot unfold in movies only to grow up and realize that it's unlikely to happen to us. Life isn't a movie set designed to bring two people together through a series of quirky, cute events that all lead up to an emotional kiss in the rain. Well, maybe that does happen, and if it's happened to you, email me the details.

My point isn't to say that I'm an anti-love pessimist who hates seeing other people happy and in love. My point is that you cannot base your own life on what you see in movies. Fairytales and romantic comedies are sweet to watch and fantasize about, but when it all boils down, that isn't reality. Life sucks, a lot. Hopefully we can take notes from the romantic gestures and heartfelt soliloquies portrayed in movies, but for the most part, we just drift through life hoping to bump into someone who likes what we like and is willing to put up with our crappy attitudes and habits. That being said, I hope we all find our very own Jake Ryan. Until then, good luck searching for someone to star in the romantic movie of your life.