My Experiments with Love
Romanticising passion — Need or Desire?
‘You want a love that consumes you. You want passion and adventure, and even a little danger.’
Damon Salvatore said this to Elena in Vampire Diaries but who really heard it was an 18 year old girl, trying to figure out life and love in a complicated world of superficialities. We live in a complex world where our lives are, more of than not, and much to our distaste, governed by our circumstances and dictated by our surroundings. Of course, there are always the exceptional few who have it straightened out and found a way to take charge of their lives. But is it just me or even you think that somewhere sometime, even they are forced to succumb?
At the age of 15, love was about the initial sparks and connecting over who’s the best student in class and debating in classrooms, trying to outwit the other in front of the teacher, all of this culminating in an electrifying kiss on the staircase and a little sneaking around so our parents wouldn’t know.
At 16, it was about falling for someone you respected because you trusted them and looked up to them for their achievements and capabilities, but also who could resist the charm of an all-rounder senior with a toned physique?
At 17 came what most people believe you can never outlive — your very first real heartbreak. You drown in that all-consuming passion and even relish the sweet torture that comes with the relationship. It drives you in all facets of life, whilst slowly becoming the most toxic thing around. Neither God nor Devil can help you because you have already chosen your poison. But there’s always light at the end of the tunnel…and…
At 19, after an excruciating journey, comes the sweet love. It grows on you and seeps into you, making you believe that only a true love’s kiss can thaw a frozen heart. It picks you up, rekindles your hope and allows you to be a better person, helping you let go of the bitterness and hurt inside, healing you from within, preparing you for the world outside.
And at 21, after an adventurous half decade, it’s time to meet the one you come home to. A bit premature? Well age is just a number. You’re as old as the life you’ve lived, aren’t you?
It’s a time when an old connection metamorphoses into a new one, giving butterflies in your stomach and a calmness in your soul. You experience a sense of peacefulness like you’ve never had before. But is this enough? You crave for the passion that Damon talked about and feeling the thrill of romance, just being young and crazy and spontaneous and sharing a common love for Indian street food. You get it as well but what you underestimate is the power of that admission letter, all set to take you to another continent.
We are no strangers to the concept of long-distance relationships but how many extra miles can you go until you run out? How do you keep the passion and romance alive in the complex virtual world when circumstantial evidence happens to be rooting for the death sentence of your precious fairy tale? Do you compromise on passion and believe in the unexpressed feelings of love or do you strive to keep the flame burning, a wrecking ball as it may be? And what can such a relationship potentially become — a paradise of passion or a marriage of convenience? What would you choose? Or is there a way you can avoid making the choice altogether??