Dear Closet Romantic,
I see you. I see me in you and as you. With your phone in one hand and last night’s cupcake in another, swiping away to find even a shadow of your Prince Charming. Hoping that somehow you will find someone who will ask a little more than, ‘Your place or mine?’ NGL, I know when it comes to factors that define modern-day dating, it’s hard to overlook hookup culture.
With more and more dating making sex easier than pulling your socks in the morning, it is hard for everyone to keep up. I geddit that the dating world is rife with fast-paced jumping between people, FOMO, and ambiguity. Modern dating is at once both exciting and frustratingly confusing. So, dear romantic I hear you when you say, ‘whatever happened to chivalry?’ or when you rant to your friends about men being red flags. I see you.
All I want you to do is remember you don’t have to change yourself to fit in this ‘fast-food’ dating world. It is okay to spend your days laughing with your friends, finishing the never-ending deadlines, travelling to bizarre corners of the world and just loving yourself. Remember that hookup culture was not—and should never be—the norm.
Someday, hopefully, you will get your ‘happily ever after’. There will be music, candles, roses, chocolates and romance. And your patience will get paid off.
You deserve a slow love that sneaks up on you like winter in October. The kind of love that stays up with you…just talking to you in bed. Love that makes your heart sing and dance. So, if you are tired of hookups, hollow messages and empty promises, you can always stop.
I understand that there are days you sit in your room thinking, “Hey, that’s the way it is, so I better just get used to it. If everyone’s hooking up, it must be me who’s wrong for not partaking in it, right?” But know this—there’s nothing wrong with quitting the hookup world if it is not working for you.
This doesn’t mean shutting yourself to new adventures and possibilities. The happier you will feel about your life choices, the less you feel frustrated with the dating world. So, dear secret romantic, keep your heart and eyes open ‘coz they might be somewhere looking for the same thing.
Till then laugh loudly, hustle hard and most of all cherish yourself. It’s okay to say no, and it’s okay to demand more.
Yours lovingly,
A fellow hopeless romantic
P.S: Just because we want different things, doesn’t mean we can judge others for their choices. So no judgement, okay?
