Today I got to thinking about love. I know it sounds extremely cliche, but don't stop reading yet!

Being raised in he time of fast information, visual stimuli and abundant opportunities, we've all encountered countless books, poems, movies, tv shows, pictures and everyday stories on the subject of love. About a century ago one wouldn't have the ability to google "Neruda's love poems" or "Romeo and Juliet", or any romantic movie and read or watch it online in a matter of seconds.

All these things have in a way created a certain stereotype in our heads, resulting in preoccupations, expectations and wishful thinking that true love is out there.

A love full of passion. A selfless love. A love which is bigger, more intense and more romantic than anything in the world.

We have been conditioned to believe that such a thing exists. Okay, I don't want to be cynical, maybe it does. But the question is, is this "love" the norm? Does the perfect soulmate exist for everyone?

I think we expect too much. Not only we expect it, we think we deserve it. Don't get me wrong, everyone deserves love. Isn't it a bit utopian though to think that out there, there is that somebody who will eventually love us unconditionally, risk everything for us, protect us from the world and make our happiness his sole purpose? Anticipation is a tricky thing, because one way or another, it sets you up for dissapointment.

I have kissed many frogs, and let me tell you, thus far none of them turned into princes. Maybe this is why the great loves are either historically significant or fictional. Because they are very few and rare. I'm not saying that there is no hope. Just that statistically, there is very little probability. In real life, your leading man doesn't always see that the other woman is a bimbo or a shrew. He doesn't run after you when you walk away. He won't put his own life in danger, or leave everything behind just to be with you. In real life, it doesn't always work and love doesn't conquer all, like we have been lead to believe.

People get hurt, rejected and dumped all the time. And we need to acknowledge that life is not a controlled environment, or a flawless fantasy land, since by keeping the worst case scenario in mind we might reduce the amount of dissapointment.

I'm just angry with myself, because even though I've thought about the above, I still haven't managed to put the hopeless romantic part of my personality to sleep. Tough luck, huh?