Tag: romance

• Is Love an Option?

  I was recently asked the question “Is Love an Option” by one of my close friends. Although I wouldn’t say I’ve experienced the cliche version of love that we all know it to be. I’ve experienced many different types of love: familial, platonic, and a type of romantic affection. Love comes in all shapes and sizes, but do we really know how it starts? Having a crush or being attracted to a person can come naturally or be all consuming, but love doesn’t follow that same criteria. Love is slow and almost goes unnoticed until you find that it’s already there. I’ve watched everyone around me fall in and out of love over the years, and it honestly never looks appealing. I’ve watched my friends fight over trivial things with their boyfriends but refuse to see their flaws at the same time. Once I decide to question them, I always get the same line: “You’ll understand when you’re in love.” 

  This remark used to irritate me; I felt like a child being scolded by an adult for something I couldn’t comprehend. Since I was young, I’ve loved the idea of romance, whether it be in books or films, I couldn’t get enough of it, but the way love is interpreted in these forms is very different to the real world. Love is scary and unsettling; you never really know the outcome. Yet we still continue to love as much as we can, over and over again. Maybe it’s humans that have this affliction; we are made to naturally crave love. Some have a worse affliction than others and take whatever they are given. Even the phrase “I love you” is confusing. It’s commonly said between friends and family, but when it comes to romantic relationships, no one has the answers. Everyone I know has said the phrase at different points in their relationships, and every single one of them still doesn’t think they got it right. Too early or too late, or the wrong timing altogether. Why is it that these types of relationships are so hard to navigate? Even the sayings regarding love make it sound unnerving: “Love makes you crazy” or “Love conquers all.” 

  For those like me, who haven’t experienced this form of love, it sounds frightening and controlling. Romantic love from an onlooker’s perspective doesn’t look pretty or desireable; it seems like something no human on earth has fully figured out. Every piece of literature I’ve read has been influenced by some sort of love, and it always ends with tragedy or change. All of these factors seem to indicate that love is necessary to human life and progression; everything we do involves love. Whether it be protecting our families, hugging our friends, or being with the ones we love. Even if I decided that love was an option, it seems as though humans can’t help but pick love again and again.  

  

  2026.01.20

• Eternity

  Most of my writing is usually inspired by new films in theaters or pieces of literature that inspired them. My most recent fixation is the new romance movie Eternity. Over the holidays, I haven’t had much to work with, but for some reason, this saddening film struck a chord with me. It follows a couple who have both recently passed away and are stuck between life and death, deciding where they should spend eternity. The husband, Larry, passes away first and is determined to wait for his wife, Joan, whom he has been married to for sixty-five years. Joan arrives only a week later, after dying from cancer, and is shocked to find herself reunited with her first husband, who died in battle. It’s an amusing premise, but as the story unfolds, it becomes increasingly complex. Joan has to decide who she wants to spend the rest of eternity with. While she’s been married to one for sixty-five years, she never got to have a life with the other. 

  As the movie progressed, I started to adore Joan more and more. Her thought process is very realistic to what I would have done myself in her situation, and towards the middle, she chooses herself. She doesn’t want to pick one or the other, so she picks neither. I honestly felt this was the best option for Joan, even though it wasn’t the direction the film was going in. The director uses the trope of first love versus last love. First love is exciting and passionate, but simple and often short-lived. While her last love had hardship and a presumed sedentary lifestyle, it had comfort and peace. Joan figures out by the end, after picking an eternity with Luke, her first husband, that although she was happiest with him, life has so much more to offer. The smallest things, like bickering in the car, raising children, and reminding each other to take medication, can be the things that make life so rewarding. Joan finally realizes the mistake of picking her young love and goes back to find Larry amidst the chaos. The couple finally reunites to find themselves in an abandoned eternity, away from everyone else, and decide to spend their eternity there. 

  People my age seem to have a fascination with the idea of first love. Countless people I’ve met seem unsettled by the idea that whoever they are with will never love them as much as they did their first love. This is usually targeted towards male audiences, and the notion that they never truly get over it. It’s a heartbreaking thought that so many in relationships choose to focus on, but this film eased my mind. Audiences assume that she will end with her first love by the way the movie is portrayed, as well as our preconceived notions of the beauty of a first love. First love doesn’t have to be everything we think it is. We can see that the hardship and countless years of shared time brought them closer together than she and Luke ever were. 

  Joan’s most important line in the film is when she finally has the courage to tell Luke that she made a mistake; “It was young love, it was everything. But love isn’t just one happy moment, right? It’s a million.” By this point, my eyes were filled with tears by this simple conversation between them. Even though this film has a very fictional plot, the characters and dialogue felt so unbelievably real. With one sentence, everything else clicked into place after so much uncertainty. 

  Although young love is full of fun and excitement, spending a lifetime together and learning to overcome hardship is that much stronger. Each character that is depicted in the film is so complex and interesting that we end up rooting for all of them at once. Alongside the first love versus last love, we also have the overwhelming concept of time. Time is brought up again and again as a way to justify their actions or decisions. Joan thinks she should stay with Larry because they have been married sixty-five years, but she should go with Luke because he’s been waiting sixty-seven years. We go back and forth between these options until the answer becomes entirely unclear. This almost feels like a nod to real life; time isn’t the reason we fall in love or stay in love. Sometimes things just aren’t meant to be, and we can’t force them to be. Love is supposed to be and always is complex, and the answer isn’t always clear.

  2026.01.20

• Lily of the Valley

  Ever since I was young, my favorite flowers have been lilies of the valley. Maybe it was because I played Animal Crossing games growing up, and you were always awarded with a lily of the valley when you completed most of the game. But they always reminded me of willow trees; they looked sullen and fragile. Most storybooks use willow trees to depict grief or mourning, but I always thought they were the most beautiful. I never admired the picturesque green fields as much as I did the dark shade of the willows or drooping flowers. As I got older, I continued to revere these flowers, and it wasn’t until recently that I found out they’re poisonous. 

  The lily of the valley is considered a flower of love, so I found it was strangely symbolic that they were poisonous at the same time. Lilies of the valley are usually portrayed as innocent and beautiful but rare and out of reach. Similar to real beauty, it’s intertwined with violence and seduction, making the once beautiful flower a symbol of lust. The most perfect beauty is also presented as innocent and as untouched as budding flowers. Throughout literature, we see beauty and innocence usually as a downfall for most characters; it’s something that can never be properly obtained. A perfect portrayal of this is Eve in Milton’s ‘Paradise Lost.’ The Garden of Eden is supposed to be the picture of perfection, and Eve is supposed to obey Adam’s every need like God intended. She is the blueprint of innocence and beauty, but these very things lead her to the downfall of humanity. 

  It’s rare to see a character that only benefits from these traits. Lilies of the valley often look edible and approachable, but they will lead to great danger and even death. Innocence leads to temptation and curiosity, like the forbidden fruit which leads to downfall. These flowers, being flowers of love, always accurately shows that love is painful and destructive, but it’s usually wrapped in tenderness, like these gorgeous flowers. The color white is also a symbol of purity in flowers like the lily of the valley. This so-called love is also the corruption of purity and how that innocence poisons rather than heals showing the danger underneath it.

  

  2025.11.17