So I wrote this essay for my english class and I wanted you all to enjoy it, cause it's kind of a work of art.
Happily
ever after, do you even know what that means? I mean after what? After you meet
this "glorious" person and what? You literally ride off into the sunset? Well, I hate
to break it to you, but that's freaking bull. It’s a myth. It is an idea put in
our heads at a young age and we torture ourselves to get what we think we need
to live our lives to the fullest. “Fairy tale happily ever after” are in books and are meant to give us hope. But in the end all it does is crush the reality
that we truly do live in.
Women
are the worst at deciphering reality and their fantasies. I quote from the very
wise and wonderful movie He’s Just Not That
Into You: “We are not the exception, we are the rule.” The rule states if I
guy or girl doesn’t like you then they don’t. That’s it. They won’t fall in
love with you over a long, romantic hour and a half of love songs, funny happenings,
or embarrassing stories. And I think that people know this to be true, but when
you go through a break up, or something to that effect, don’t you hear a "he
said, she said" story about someone having the same situation as you, but theirs
having a happy ending? And this happening to you every time something goes wrong
in a relationship, I can see why people tend to think that they are the
exception to this horrible, yet very real rule. When in actuality your life is
what you make it. And if you remember that you are the rule, it will help while
searching for your “true love”.
Now
I’m sure we all have imagined ourselves with that prince or princess. But let’s
be real. Have you ever truly met someone that sings and frolics their way
through the flowers, or someone who rides their trusty steed to come to your
rescue? We might put people we know in these categories, but truly, no one does
these things. I rarely ever see a relationship that is functional. 50% of
marriages in America end in divorce. People start out in this fable world and
expect that to be enough for the rest of eternity. People should embark on this
wonderful adventure but these journey’s passengers will mumur, complain, and
eventually forget to mend the problems they face on this voyage we call
marriage. Marriage is work. It definitely does not need to be thought of in a
carefree way or it will end like 50% of America. Think about it, what was the
last prince charming or princess you knew? And how it was after you got to know
them, and I mean really know them? Did they stay your precious prince or princess?
You gotta work. A ton. And not just one of you, both of you have to put forth
massive amounts of effort at all times.
But
how are you supposed to find your “one true love” if all we ever hear is
bashing on the other sex? What is the first thing that comes out of a girl or
guy’s mouth when something bad happens in a relationship? “Oh, I hate boys!” or
“Girls are so confusing, they suck!” I mean all we do is complain about each
other! How are we suppose to have a happily ever after if you don’t even like
the opposite sex? As a Mormon community we always talk about how the earth is
getting to be so full of temptations and hatred, and I think that negativity in
this aspect is a big part of it, horrible relationships being justified by the
victims of abuse, verbally, sexually, etc. is something that is happening
everyday. Chivalry is dead people. What
happened?
All
the chick flicks, love songs, storybooks, they set us up for heartbreak and
disaster. Really, they take all of our hopes and dreams, raise them up as high
as they can go and then literally shatter them into a thousand pieces. And the
sad thing is, is that we keep going back to them. We seek comfort in them. This
give us false hope. Extremely false. Your boyfriend is not going to stand
outside your window one night and throw rocks at you to get you to come outside
and make out till the music starts and your life just fades out into the
sunset. No. A girl is not going to run out into the rain and yell your name
while you sexily, play football. It’s an illusion that is shoved into our heads
when we are children, when we read that first fairy tale. It screws all our
realistic thoughts. Some people get so lost in them that they really do lose
their reality. They lose their grasp on life.
Now
hope and being unrealistic is two completely different things. Having hope is
being happy about your life no matter what is thrown at you. Possessing hope is
definitely something that needs to be done everyday. But having thoughts of
things like a easygoing, wonderful marriage is something that is unreachable, at
least, the way we precieve marriage and the way it should be. It is something
that is unattainable unless worked for, for the rest of eternity, literally all
of eternity, for us Mormons. It works; it really does if you just know what is
needed throughout marriage. It is not easy, but it will be worth it.
The
two key words in this phrase is fairy
tale. It is just that a fairy tale. It’s something that is made up for
little children so that their imaginations will blossom. They are wonderful
concepts when we are five years old. But as we grow up, remember that life
sucks. It just sucks less when you realize that you are the rule not the
exception. You also have to remember that an exception to the rule can be made,
it just takes so much more work then the stories tell you. So get off of your lazy butt, stop complaining about your love life, and start living your own life. A
fairy tale happily ever after isn’t ever
going to happen, so why not make a story of your own?
Yep.
