I am undoubtly the biggest hopeless romantic you will ever meet. I cry at the happy endings of my favorite romantic comedies; I can’t help myself. When I imagined coming to college, I had thought everything would be like my favorite movies. In my head, I was Josie in Never Been Kissed, blissfully unaware of reality on that high school pitcher’s mound. I was Lucy in While You Were Sleeping, racing into happily ever after on the El train. I thought college guys, unlike high school boys, had to be more interesting, more mature, and more likeable than anyone I had met in high school. In my head, college boys were Chad Michael Murray as Austin Ames in A Cinderella Story. When I finally faced reality, I realized, just like high school, college guys are more like Paul Walker in She’s All That than Freddie Prince Jr.
*sighs dramatically*
It took a while for me to get used to this *englightened* state of being. I definitely had to kiss a few frogs to realize that college life is not about finding the guy who looks (and acts!) like he just stepped out of your favorite movie. It all started fall quarter my freshman year around Halloween weekend. I was beginning to realize Northwestern University, ranked the 5th kinkiest university in the country by the dating app Clover, was not exactly the setting of my favorite big love stories. I had gone out with some girlfriends in the hopes of having a great Halloween with some of my favorite people. The night ended not only with a complete lack of romance, but with bruises all over my lips where some random guy had aggressively bit me. I had always imagined my first kiss would be just like that scene in Never Been Kissed, because I had waited so long and I had earned special. Instead, I was full of regret and let my friends down by ditching them for something that wasn’t worthwhile.
So things don’t always go as planned…
I started to realize college was never going to be like a movie. I’m not a celebrity, my life isn’t magical. But, with the right friends, I could have a little magic of my own. It was after that night when I came to an awesome conclusion: real friendship, especially those you make in college, can be just as great as any movie. They forgive you when you’re stupid, and support you through all your worst days. College is not about hookups or romance, it’s about making long lasting friendships. So, the next time you feel like you need a good dose of romance, don’t go seeking it out on campus. Call your best friends, pull up Netflix, and put on your favorite movie, because the best part about being a hopeless romantic is having friends who are too.