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Tonight, as I was watching what is quickly becoming my favourite romantic Christmas movie- The Holiday, I got to thinking about just how much of a hopeless romantic I am. On the outside I am a twenty-something student, a single female attending a good university, a borderline workaholic, a crazy sports fan and a slightly high maintence version of one of the guys. I have spent a good chunk of my life crafting this image, and while it is certainly a part of who I am, it isn't everything. On the inside I have a soft spot for romantic comedies, chick-lit and romance novels, and country love songs. I believe in fate or destiny, read my love horoscope every weekend and would like to believe in love at first sight (although I have to see it to believe it). I believe that things that are meant to be happen, that nothing is coincidental.

Like many girls my age more so than any thing else, I want to fall hopelessly in love. I'll admit, while a cliche, there is a certain universality to this belief. In my experience a large majority of people spend a great deal of their time fantasizing about "the one", be it in romantic or strictly sexual terms. While some may argue that these romantic and sexual relations are inherently different, I beg to differ. In terms of an idyllic sexual fantasy, there is a sense of romance. In picturing his or her sexual fantasy, the fantasizer is imagining a significant portion of his or her romantic relationship. Whether it is a rose petals and candles or bdsm or somewhere in between that one sees as part of an ideal sexual relationship, it plays into the idea of what that individual's perfect romance is (and this is defined differently for most people). Admittedly sex does not define a romantic relationship, but in our world today it undoubtedly plays a significant role.

Returning to the topic at hand, the purpose of this blog will largely be personal. Often I find myself discouraged about and cynical in regards to love. Much of the time love seems to be too much work, too many games and too difficult to attain in comparison to many of my life goals. I am an attractive (although maybe not beautiful), intelligent young woman who has been raised to put academic and professional success above love. Yet, through it all I am still drawn to my idea of the perfect romance, and the ideal man (as I will discuss in a later post) and will settle for not much less.

Maybe it is my discrimination that sets me apart from others my age, or maybe my underlying idealism about romance and love is a part of who we are as (modern) humans, I'm not sure. All I know is that I am a helpless romantic in what I am quickly learning is an un- (or even anti-) romantic world.

While this blog is largely for personal reasons, I would love to hear from you. What is your romantic fantasy? What do you believe defines romance? Are you a cynic who does not believe in love? Let me know. I would love to see who is reading.