6 Struggles Of A Hopeless Romantic In Today's Culture

Growing up, I was always the hopeless romantic who found herself constantly lost in a daydream. I was fascinated with the idea of being in love. Perhaps because I spent a great deal of my growing up years watching Disney movies. As I grew older, I found myself trapped in an ideal I made for myself. And that made it hard for me to see reality.

As much as I was in love with the concept of being in love, I realized how terrified I was of love. I remember my first crush on my classmate way back in kindergarten. It was a hopeless crush, doomed from the start because I was the quiet kid who rather would read a book during recess.

I remember only telling one friend, who also happened to be my seatmate. Before I knew it, everyone knew about my little crush, even my teacher. From then on, I became terrified of relationships.

# You constantly find yourself dating the wrong person

Remember the person introduced to you a few weeks ago? You initially found them to be very attractive, but he turned out to be a total jerk. As a hopeless romantic, finding love seems to be your ideal goal.

Yet I found myself constantly dating the wrong people and dealing with disappointments almost too much for me to bear. The good thing about dating the wrong people is that it only taught me what works and what doesn’t.

# Love is never like the movies

I grew up watching Disney movies. Perhaps one big mistake every hopeless romantic makes early in life. But hopeless romantics always hold some sort of an ideal, a dream to strive towards. Early on in life, I wanted my romance to be like the Disney movies, or even one of those cheesy romantic flicks that were a guilty pleasure of mine.

Did I decide to stay with my ex after he cheated on me with four women and got one of them pregnant? No. Love may be held to lofty heights in the movies, but it almost never works that way in real life, and I am just going to have to deal with it.

# Love becomes too much of an ideal and less of a reality

One of the most frustrating things about being a hopeless romantic is once you fall into a relationship, your ideals die altogether. While you tend to romanticize the situation you are in, you are blinded to the harsher truths of the relationship.

Many people perceive you as a martyr and call you foolish. Many hopeless romantics find themselves trapped in relationships that are either abusive or are clearly going nowhere because they stubbornly stick to their ideals.

# They dread the thought of dating

The dating game is a hard game to play especially when you find yourself to be a hopeless romantic. These days, the rules of dating changed so much that it confuses me even to this day. What happens when the person you date turns hot and then cold suddenly, or disappears after just one date?

These days, more people want a no-strings-attached relationship than pursue a serious commitment. This conflicts with the hopeless romantic’s ideals who are all about serious relationships and commitment.

The modern dating world is harsh, and too often the hopeless romantic finds themselves to be an old soul in an ever-changing world.

# You feel you have so much love to give that it scares you

When hopeless romantics find themselves in a relationship, they’re the more affectionate one in the relationship.

Hopeless romantics never run short of romantic gestures and sweet nothings. They do anything for the love of their lives. They give so much of themselves that they lose themselves in the process.

# Hopeless romantics go through a period of being alone

After fighting yet another losing battle, hopeless romantics often experience a period of loneliness before deciding to get back into the game. It’s a repeating cycle that many hopeless romantics find themselves in.