I know it’s probably stupid, contrived, made up by Hollywood, but fuck it, I don’t care, I want it.
I want all that cheesy dumbass romantic stuff that you see in tv shows. I want to hold hands in the park, carve our initials in a tree, serenade her outside her window, watch some show with her curled up by my side, go ice skating together, etc.
At least so I can get it out of my system and be on the other side where the grass is supposedly greener. That way, I can grow up and get a taste of a real nuts and bolts relationship with warts and all.
I don’t know if I’ll ever get to have this fantasy, I havent had any success on the “getting a girlfriend” front.
29 comments
When you do eventually meet someone, you can do all that as an adult! No reason it has to be limited to teen years
You are very young. Of course you still can. And minus the serenading, people still act this way at any age when they fall in love. Falling in love is cheesy, dumbass romantic stuff and feeling giddy because you held her hand. It’s witchy magic. And it doesn’t only exist for teenagers.
Resonating to this post so much.
You can still do those things!
Same. This is why I still swipe right on college-aged women even though I’m 30 😝
That’s called being a romantic.
Regardless of age, people like different degrees of romance in their relationships. Some prefer things pragmatic, more cut-and-dry. Some prefer the storybook romance with all the flowers, dinners and ice skating it comes with. In my experience the romance only gets better with age as you have more freedom and money to make the romance you want happen.
You haven’t missed out on anything. Don’t get me wrong, there are things you can only have when you’re younger. But as luck would have it, this isn’t one of them.
I’m 44 and gave up on it 15 years ago.
Way to late.
Cause it doesn’t exist.
Move On, learn to talk to Women, be confident, be humble.
I know everyone has said this but you really can! Why is holding hands and cuddling limited to teenagers?? Those are two of the most basic acts of physical affection, elderly people do it too. I wouldn’t carve your initials into a tree bc that’d hurt the tree but everything else you listed is pretty simple ngl, you’re not asking to run through an airport to confess to someone getting on a plane
I always wanted that too. Never got it.
Same
I had this for 8 years, and it was great. Pretty much encapsulated my high school experience and my early college years. I’d say you still can find it, OP, it just may take a lot more time. As we get older (also 23M) we will have more resources with which to go out and do stuff with our dates. I had fun with my previous SO going to taco bell and Walmart in our hometown and just talking and laughing at everything, because we were best friends as well as partners, and it still didn’t work out. Now that we are older, we both can find that again, it jsut will take time. Take it from me, who is a terminally awkward nerd who has had this kind of relationship before(: best of luck OP!!
I (30F) never got to date in high school either. My boyfriend (27M) was in a similar boat. When we met five years ago, we got to be each other’s first love and do all the stupid stuff. And it was better than high school because we were allowed to have sleepovers.
There are other late bloomers out there, and you’ll fine the right person to live out this fantasy with.
I’ve had plenty boyfriends and I feel the same way, because I struggled to get dates when I was young. When people are young and dumb they’ll get a crush and think “this is the love of my life we’re soul mates” but then they found out it wasn’t true. So a lot of the whirlwind romance and crazy intense love is just people too naive to know reality yet.
Real love and connection are different. It’s not like the movies.
Don’t worry. The first time you get a girlfriend, you’ll feel that way anyway. I don’t think that phenomenon is limited by age.
> with warts and all.
Maybe… maybe we don’t do this with warts, eh?
(yes I know it’s a turn-of-phrase, but goddamn, maybe we keep the “viral” phrases away from talks of “love”, yeah? Don’t wanna jinx it!)
I feel you. I want that too 😭❤❤
21F I feel the same. I missed out during my teen years and I feel like I can never get that back…
Now wait one-the enjoyment of romanticism doesn’t disappear when you reach some archaic age like ohhhh…(fill in your idea of “archaic age.”) 60, OK, look, there’s no line for me to fill in after “65 and over.” (I’ve been a widow for 30 yrs. and it’s just gotten different, not “over.”)
What’s wrong with engaging in romantic gestures at any age? Because when ya think about it, romantic gestures matter because they’re other directed, not self-directed. Some of these are quite traditional, others not so much. 85% approx. of human communication is non verbal. And if these kinds of thoughtful gestures manifest over time as a behavioral pattern? What does that tell you? They’re likely to be kind, thoughtful and respectful.
You are a romantic in quest of a romantic partner. There is no age when being kind and thoughtful of others with those romantic gestures ever has an Expiration Date. And it is most surely possible to find that person who reciprocates as long as you’re you. You possess personal qualities that are surely timeless.
I’m a romantic, too. You’re still young, though. You have lots of time to make meaningful connections.
But I do feel you. I’m 39(f) and I am still wanting that.
sadly if your not brad pitt
it aint happening in this dating environment
I met my first wife (we’ve since divorced) at 22. It’ll happen.
I hear you. I’m 43 and want it.
Same, although not really about dating but in general.
I very much never got to be a normal teenage girl. My home life was, for lack of a better word, very opressive. I ended up having such a horrible breakdown from it that I wasn’t psychologically capable of leaving until I was 20. I can cope with it and have made peace, but if I ever had the opportunity to start my teenage years over with everything I know now, I would in a second.
You’d be surprise how many older couples do this stuff. Maybe not all the listed above but a good chunk of it.
Trust me you can do that stuff whenever you want with the right person. I didn’t have anyone I could do that with until this year (25M) and now I do all the things I wanted to do, I’ve cooked for her, had romantic dinners, put candles and rose petals in the bedroom, sung and played guitar for her at her birthday party, taken her on a small trip away etc. You can do all these things at any age, just make sure you’re doing it for someone worth your time.
I completely understand where you are coming from. I also did not have a girlfriend until my 20s and completely missed out on all of the adolescent ideals that you are pining for.
The good thing is that all of that stuff is still possible. Sure, it won’t be quite as dramatic but it can all still happen regardless of your age (you are very young, by the way, so fret not).
It’s not made up by Hollywood, it exists 🙂 Don’t settle.
Yesss! 23F and I know I may be too much of a hopeless romantic. But I know thats what i want and I wont stop waiting for that kind of love
Or do I need to? 😭😂