Isn't it romantic?

 

As a kid, you never really understood what the big deal was about romance. I mean every book you read, and every TV show you enjoyed was about a couple of pre-teens who went on magical adventures, either metaphorically or literally. That was fun, you had decided, going on exciting adventures with people you liked. A few years later, the stories were the same with one major difference, instead of friends, it was now time for that one special person to make an appearance. The person who would be with you through thick and thin, rain and shine and you could live out the rest of your beautiful days with. At least that’s what fiction taught you. Life taught you that that’s not always a guarantee.

Now, romance is everywhere and for good reason. It’s a natural human tendency to want to be loved and most people find comfort in the idea of a special love, a position that only they can occupy for as long as the relationship lasts, a couple of months or forever. Real life romance isn’t always perfect, but some decide its worth the risk.

That being said, for every happy couple, blissfully in love, there’s someone who isn’t. Someone who doesn’t feel the need to share the life they’ve built with a special someone but who is content with hanging out with their friends and going home to an empty bedroom and empty DMs.

Some people find that they can treat themselves better than any potential partner would with solo trips, coffee dates, movie nights and self-care days. Other people realize that they have more fun with their friends and abhor talking stages and almost everything that comes with pursuing a new romantic relationship. A similar shift has occurred on social media, and you could not be more grateful. Watching men and women figure out who they are, find new hobbies to keep themselves fulfilled, prioritize their platonic relationships and go on group vacations make you feel like maybe you’re not wasting your 20s and this is exactly what you’re supposed to be doing. Writing novels, consuming questionable amounts of coffee, walking through the streets of Mumbai, dressing up to go out with your friends, sharing pasta with the person who’s stuck with you for the rest of her life through no fault of her own, going grocery shopping, doing laundry, cooking your favorite dishes, writing blog posts while the rain hits your windows and the wind howls through the curtains, looking up at the sky and feeling the rain and sun soak into your bones and realizing what it means to be alive. You still love romance but you love romanticizing your life more.