Every rom-com since 1999 has been about young love and how everyone’s going to live happily ever after, but there’s a reason they call the rom-com a dead genre. In high school in the 21st century, no one is falling in love like it’s Notting Hill or The Notebook. Teenagers just aren’t having meet-cutes like they used to. No nerdy girl is dropping her books in the middle of the hallway and no star football player is going to help her pick them up.

Everyone’s heard their friends’ stories, and the general consensus one can come to when hearing about dating today, is that everyone’s just playing games. The guy asks the girl out, they have a good time at lunch and then he ignores her the next day in the hall. Sound familiar? 

But, if you can believe it, it’s even worse when they like you a little too much. One date and all of a sudden the texts come pouring in: “You make my days better!” Pardon, did you just say days?!? Plural?!? As if you’ve spoken for more than one day!…Or, there’s the worst case scenario, where they’re in love with you and you’re in love with them, but neither of you say anything. 

This is not Beyonce’s Part II ( On The Run). “Who wants that perfect love story anyway..cliché,” Queen Bee sings dismissively….Us, Beyonce! 15- year-old girls want the cliche perfect love story! The only love story I’ve witnessed recently is when my friends started dating at 7:30 am, broke up at 6:00 pm on the same day, then got back together at 11:00 am the next day. 

Then there’s the fact that no one wants to be the corny couple that makes out on the staircase or says, “I Love You” after 2 months. Everything is cringe and the fear of being cringe is holding everyone back. 

My theory? The death of romance in movies actually lead to the death of romance in real life. One can’t use a rom-com move if there’s no rom-com to get inspiration from. 

The Ick is also very much a major factor in why no one is living their Twilight Bella Swan moment. In the words of one of my peers, a very profound 14-year-old girl, “ Ugh, why can’t you just be what I want!” Everyone is either doing too much or too little. What’s wild is that the female race is expected to continue to have interactions with teenage boys when they do goofy things like act nice (usually a little too nice). “Where’s my hug at?” Your hug? It’s at home with your mother because you will certainly not be anywhere near my dermis today.  

I beg the question…what on God’s green earth do we do? Is there a solution? Nothing’s coming to mind, but are there any good stories? Yeah sure. The problem is when you are happy and your life is slaying not everyone is happy for you. So even if you find this amazing romance, your entire grade will be hating on it!

Are we all supposed to just never date anyone for fear of getting our hearts broken? No. Of course, you’re going to get heartbroken. That’s life. Of course, it’s complicated and will only get worse the older we get. Could we really call ourselves teenage girls if we aren’t obsessed with all this drama even a little bit though? 

And no, I’m not saying, “Go out and be obsessed with boys! You just have to! You’re a teenage girl! That’s your only personality trait!” I’m saying more: “Be cautious. Be realistic. And if you get heartbroken once or twice, don’t worry about it! Romance is dead, but you’ll be fiiiiiiiiiine.”