Editing our wants

The average person wants to feel well liked by their peers, respected and accepted by their family, cherished by their significant other, and adored by their pets. (That’s not just me, right?) Focusing solely on romantic relationships, I feel as though I’ve learned how to control what I want from another person.

I spent a good portion of my life expecting all of my relationships to be perfect. I watched far too many Freddie Prinze Junior movies, where there would be some conflict or misunderstanding, then a grand gesture and a happily ever after. Then I spent the last year or so realizing, more than ever, that life is not a movie.

I am starting to understand why the male gender always thinks females are “crazy” or why they don’t understand us. I think its because females have this happily ever after notion in their heads and after any fight or break up, the guy will come to his senses and realize he can’t live without her. I also think these fantasies never even cross the minds of our male counterparts. But in a girl’s perfect world, he’ll drive over in the rain and bang on her door, begging for her to take him back. Or in an equally unrealistic, movie-driven ideal, he would fly across the world to tell her he was sorry.

Fortunately for myself, I think that I’ve overcome my own wistful wanting for a fairytale romance, and stopped expecting people to be perfect. There are too many emotions, like pride, self consciousness, and the ability to be distracted by the next shiny thing for anyone to play out that Hollywood romance that movies make so many of us dream about.

For my own good, I’ve realized that no one will ever say exactly what you want them to say or do what you want them to do, so I’ll no longer:

-Plant the perfect conversation in my head

-Let the flawless date sit at the back of my mind

-Allow disappointment with imperfection poison my thoughts

-Believe that I’m starring in my own romantic comedy

Though, to be clear, I’m not saying I’ve necessarily struggled with being disappointed in flaws, or dating for that matter on any large scale.

Who am I to complain? This is all the man I could ever want, anyway.

(Kidding. Half-kidding)