Recently, I was somewhat forced to act in a short film for a friend’s class. The assignment was to create a meaningful, silent short film so my friend chose to do one on the dangers of romanticizing relationships.
In the short film, I was the main character — swiping through a fake Bumble account, I idealized a relationship with my dream partner solely based on how their profile looked. By the end of the film, my character was left devastated. She realized the reality she created romanticizing a stranger only existed in her imagination.
I felt as though I didn’t need to act for this film — which was good, considering I have zero acting ability — but also because the message really stuck with me.
Countless times, I catch myself daydreaming about the future or the perfect partner. More often than not, my head continues to stay in the clouds, to escape reality and stay in the flawless world that I created for myself. It’s only when reality strikes me like a lightning bolt that I come back down to Earth, disappointed and more hopeless than I was before.
After wrapping the silent short film, I was left questioning how to walk the line between reality and the romanticized world that I created for myself.
Facing the harsh, authentic world is overwhelming when there seems to be no hope around me. On the other hand, the dream society I created for myself is too perfect — I can shut out real-world issues and ignore reality for a short while.
The balance that I have yet to learn seems to be to approach the world as it is while seeing hope for the changing future. Instead of ignoring the issues in society, I have to remind myself to remove my rose-colored glasses and accept reality in its entirety.
I’ve also realized that when my thoughts are premature, I fall further into my romanticized-induced fantasy world. Without fully thinking things through, my mind is already made up as I begin to glamorize the outcome that I have played out in my head.
A prominent example of this is the countless attractive people that I make eye contact with while walking down Commonwealth Avenue. Suddenly my eyes meet theirs, and I play out scenarios of that person acting as a romantic interest in the movie of my life — all without speaking a word to them.
As someone who attempts to stay educated on current events, life is much easier when I can escape into my dream world, where everything is perfect and suffering does not exist. Unfortunately, I have to remind myself that my fantasy society is not reality. This acknowledgment is imperative when trying to fix issues around me.
Despite all of the pain and suffering in the real world, I have to remind myself not to escape to my dream world — choosing to face my problems with the hope that they can be solved instead of ignoring them altogether. I am still learning how to face difficulties head-on while my dreams and aspirations remain intact.
Much wisdom here, from one so young.