Whether you have prospered in the field of love- or failed miserably in spectacular, Oscar-worthy fashion- we can all fit our love lives into different genres of romance films. Maybe yours is a soft, sunlit rom-com. Maybe it’s a slow-burn drama where no one communicates and everyone in the film suffers. I want to welcome all viewers to The Reel Lovers Club, where you are today’s feature film. So, here’s my question for all watchers;
What genre are you?
Luckily for you, I’ve crafted a series of questions that would help answer this question for any curious romantics. Let’s start with your great romance trope. The thing that keeps coming back, no matter how many times you say “it’s different this time.” The thing that keeps you watching someone else’s love life when yours is plummeting in a fast downward spiral. Some popular ones are: friends-to-lovers, love at first sight, fake dating, enemies-to-lovers, forbidden romance, or the classic love triangle (shout out to Elena Gilbert). Here’s some things to consider:
Are you stuck in a friends-to-lovers arc, painfully aware of every lingering glance but you can’t ruin the friendship in fear it’ll go terribly? Or are you deep in enemies-to-lovers territory, where your arguments are building sexual tension too strong for either person to deny much longer? Maybe you’re living out fake dating… except the feelings are getting a little too real.
But tropes are just the trailer. The real story is the emotional vibe.
Does your lover send you handwritten notes that make it feel like your love life is straight out of a period piece? Or do you live in a little town where the universe is sending you signs that feel almost magical? Maybe none of that applies to you and you just live in a modern city, in the modern world, the kind where the audience is screaming, “JUST TEXT THEM BACK!” Are you facing late-night texts, overthinking notifications, and trying to decode what “lmao btw i gtg, talk soon?” really means? Ask yourself- if you were watching this happening on the big screen from the outside, would you even be rooting for yourself…?
What’s the dynamic between you and your significant other? Are they brooding and dark while your aesthetic is the complete and utter opposite? Did you guys start off by hating each other or were you life long friends who discovered your feelings ran a lot deeper than platonic soulmates? Is it complicated to the point where you found out that your high school boyfriend was actually getting paid to date you all so that the guy paying him could really date your younger sister? Cause first of all, you really are in a romance film. Second of all, congratulations. You’re not in any romance film- you’re reenacting 10 Things I Hate About You.
Finally, while you’re still deciding how you’d describe the main plot of your story, we get to the resolution- the ending. Right now, maybe you don’t feel that classic happy ending where the guy runs through the airport to catch the girl before she boards her last minute flight home with a person she doesn’t truly love. Or maybe you paused your tv in hopes that it would delay anyone from saying how they truly feel.
Here’s the thing about your love story:
It didn’t end when things fell apart. It didn’t end when someone left your life. It doesn’t even end when you think they’ve yelled cut backstage.
You’re still directing your story, you’re still writing the script- and someone is still writing theirs. You just haven’t crossed paths yet.
“The greatest thing you’ll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return.” – Moulin Rouge (2001)/Eden Ahbez