The misconceived concept of love

      The rules or "cultural expectations" that dictate the behavior of young men and women in relationships today has greatly evolved from the 50's, but with the same basic principals in tack. Love is such a broad topic, I don't even know where to start. There is no on correct definition of that word because what it means to one person may not apply in the same way to another. There is no clear black and white line on what dictates the rules of a relationship. It gets hard to keep up with the unwritten expectations that constantly contradicts itself in today's society. A good example is the classic double standard: When a guy gets around and dates a whole bunch of girls, he is known as a legend. However, if a girl was in that situation, she would get written off as a slut and labeled a whore or a tease.

     As one myself, I assume that most girls usually just want to find "Mr. Right," but who is he really? Well of course he has to fit the stereotypical image. You know, tall and tan, funny and smart, manly yet sensitive, aggressive yet courteous, romantic, buff, etc. ( The list goes on). "He" is the one that's suppose to ride into our lives on a white horse and save "us", the damsels in distress. As a result propaganda and influential media around every corner, we grew up learning that love will solve all our problems. Once you're living happily ever after, no problems will ever arise and everything would be dandy. That is what we were taught to believe. The thing is, we are attracted to people society has deemed acceptable. The reality of it is, we don't even really set our own standards, but allow society to set it for us.

     In the end, the bar is set so high, no one will ever reach it. That is where all those "high maintenance" girls come from. However, some just settle for the next best thing, the "asshole". Those are the kinds of girls that are convinced that there are no genuinely nice guys are left in the world and constantly complain about all the men being jerks, when really, they're just chasing the ones that don't treat them right. Ironically, these girls will always chase the "asshole" because society makes it acceptable as long as they are physically attractive.  Although, as a result of another contradiction of love, rules have their exceptions. A select few can actually look past exterior appearance and love people for their personalities as well. Why do you always think you see the love stories where the guy is in love with the best friend, but he is stuck in the friend zone while she chases the jerk that is muscular, tan, and MVP in whatever sport he plays. That is exactly what society wants to see. Need an example? Guess who won senior prom kinda and queen this year, a football player and a cheerleader. I am not in any way saying that they didn't deserve it, but it contributes to my point that stereotypes are taking over.

     But why even take my word for it? This is all just coming from a person that has never even been in love. It's not something you can look for because it's suppose to find you. You can see love, you can listen to the songs about it, you can read all the books on it, but to experience it is something indescribable.