Romantic novels are a must have in every woman's life. They allow us to fantasize what our love life or marriage might be like in a future relationship. A wedding is what every woman has dreamed about since they were little girls. If you ask any woman about their dream wedding, I'm sure they will explain to you their dress, theme, venue, and they might even pull up their wedding board on Pinterest. Romantic novels are fairy tales that women rely on and dream about obtaining in the future. However, I cant help but wonder, are these love stories setting us up for failure?
Although reading is a hobby many people possess, it has never been something of interest to me; but recently I had the urge to try and conquer a hardback book. The Fault in our Stars by John Green has been sweeping the country by its l since the book was released and even more so when the movie was featured in theaters. I decided to by my ten-dollar copy and see what the buzz was all about. Little did I know that I would soon finish the book in just two short days.
The novel features a sixteen year old girl named Hazel, who was diagnosed with cancer in her lungs, which causes her to have trouble breathing day to day. Hazel is forced, by her mother, to attend a Support Group with other children battling cancer. Although she hates attending the Support Group, she soon finds herself falling head over heels for the infamous Augustus Waters, who battled Osteosarcoma until he was eventually cancer free after having his leg amputated. The book continues to display the ins and outs of their love life and the side effects of having cancer while also being in a relationship.
When I came to the end of the book a man sitting two seats over looked at me and said, “I noticed you finished The Fault in our Stars, but I didn’t see you crying?”
I had heard from multiple people that the ending of the book was traumatic and that if you didn’t cry you are the definition of heartless. However, I didn’t find the end of the book sad, but I found it very eye opening. Love stories such as The Fault in our Stars, or pretty much any Nicholas Sparks book, leave me wondering if we are setting our standards too high to find relationships just like the ones in these fairytales. Because of the love stories that display “love at first sight” many girls find themselves romanticizing over the main characters in these fictional books, movies, and shows, until we soon realize that it is utterly impossible.
Ask any girl who they fantasize marrying in the future. Is it Augustus Waters? Lucas or Nathan from One Tree Hill? Noah Calhoun from the Notebook? or Will Blakelee from The Last Song? (To be quite frank, I even did a project of my dream wedding in High School and had Will as my husband.)
Despite the down falls, these fantasies may be able to teach women a thing or two about love. We can learn to set high expectations and never to settle for anything when it comes to making decisions in the near future. However, we truly need to realize that we were not put on this earth to fall in love, but why we are here is for us to figure out. In the meantime, college is a time for making memories to relive with our friends when we grow to be old and frail. Focusing on the present is vital for college years and trying to wrap our heads around love should be saved for later. Until then our sorority sisters are the only soul mates we need. I have yet to see The Fault in our Stars in theaters but if I were to guess, I may shed a tear or two.
