Tess Explains It All

“Why didn’t you write me?” Allie cried.

“I wrote you every day for a year. I wrote you 365 letters! It wasn’t over. It still isnt over!” Noah said as he grabbed Allie by the face and passionately kissed her as the rainfall poured down onto them.

It was one of the most romantic scenes from what I believe to be the most romantic movie of all time, The Notebook. The romance in The Notebook is clearly shown throughout the whole movie. A wonderful story that shows how true love never dies and no matter what, in the end, you’ll end up with your one true love. The author of this story, Nicolas Sparks is known for his many romantic novels. Three of them have been turned into motion pictures. How can one man write about such romantic, heart touching things, when it seems in the “real world” that kind of romance doesn’t really exist? It seems romance in movies is much stronger than the romance people get to experience in their own life.

Romantic movies are great. There’s always a happy ending, guy gets girl, girl gets guy, and there are always romantic gestures that happen throughout the movie that just makes you say “Awww.” Such as a guy showing up at the airport with flowers to confess his love before the girl flies away, or a guy asking a girl to dance with him in the street with no music playing but the music in their hearts. Why do people enjoy watching these types of movies when they know in the back of their mind this barely ever happens in reality?
       “Youre just bitter.” My best friend informed me. I had sat down to interview my good friend since she was the only close friend of mine that was married. I figured if she reached the point of marriage at the young age of 21, there must have been some sort of strong romance in her life. “Just because you havent experienced any true romance, you think no one else has. My husband happens to be very romantic.” I gave her a sideways glance, because I highly doubted her video game playing husband could be anywhere near as romantic as Noah from The Notebook.
      “Okay,” I answered, “what was the most romantic thing your husband and you have done?”

     She sat and thought for a few minutes. “I would have to say when we go on vacations together. Like one time we went to Six Flags, just the two of us. Or we went down to Santa Barbara a few months ago. That was romantic because sometimes the little things you share with your significant other, such as small conversations while on the road, or sharing a hotel room, can be very romantic.”
      I smiled and nodded but the whole time I was thinking, “That’s romance? That was the most romantic thing her and her husband have ever done?” From this example alone, it’s clear that romance in reality doesn’t even come close to how movies portray it. 
      As I thought about this comparison of romance in movies and in reality I began to question what the real definition of romance is and who really defines it? Going back to The Notebook, Nicolas Sparks finds romance to be a man building a house with his own two hands for his one true love, in hopes that it will bring her back to him. My friend finds romance to be a quick getaway for two. So which one is correct?
      This week I was lucky enough to meet the real life Hitch (David Coleman) and view one of his national award-winning speeches. His influence on the dating world was so respected that a movie was filmed about him starring Will Smith, titled Hitch. In his presentation Coleman defined romance as “performing an ordinary act of love or kindness at an unexpected time.” Once I heard this definition a past memory of romance triggered in my thoughts.
       It was just one regular morning in my senior year of high school. The school year was coming to an end, it was early June, the morning was bright and sunny, and the only thing on my mind was getting ready to graduate in just a few weeks. I had just started to date my long term crush and just the thought of him gave me butterflies in my stomach. I was in that beginning stage of a relationship where everything was just a giddy bliss. As I was showering, all of a sudden my mom swung open the door to the bathroom and yelled, “Tess! Hurry! Get out of the shower! You have to see your car!” I could tell by the tone of her voice that it was a good thing and not something I should be worried about. I quickly rinsed the last of my shampoo out and hopped out of the shower. As I bolted to the front door to get a look at my car I was completely stunned. There sat my car completely covered in red and pink rose petals and on the front window there was a card addressed to me. I opened the card excitedly to find it was from my boyfriend wishing me a happy one month anniversary. To this day, it is still the most romantic thing I have ever experienced. 

The gesture was “an act of kindness at an unexpected time” and according to Coleman that was true romance and I couldn’t have agreed more.

Still even though romance is apparent in the real world, when compared to movies, it barely comes close. According to a survey I wrote up and passed out to over 50 girls, not one girl had experienced anything super romantic. Most had received flowers from their boyfriends at one time, or gifts on special occasions. Some boyfriends had even made them a candlelit dinner. Not to say that they weren’t special and romantic to that person but most were pretty general gestures.
      Movies are really there for an escape from reality. In the end of The Notebook Allie is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in her old age and it’s her and Noah’s love story that brings her back to reality and helps her remember who she is. Whether that great of romance is evident in one’s personal life or not, love stories like these will always continue to take our breath away and touch our hearts.

college essay written by me Year: 2006
Grade: A+