I don’t want to write above love. I’m sick of it. That’s all you hear about on the radio these days- love, love, love. “She left me,” “He did me wrong,” “I realized I loved them all along.” Please. Love is not that big of a deal. Aren’t there other things to write about? Other interests artists could bring to life?

Even the movies have succumbed to the black hole of love. The newest teenage love story is all the rage, and I simply don’t get it. It’s unrealistic! Of course the shy girl and the popular boy end up together- that’s what happens in every movie. But that does not happen in real life, at least not in the way shown in the film.

The movie depicts high school students falling in love, real love. That seldom could happen in real life; it’s hardly a possibility. High school love is lustful. There’s nothing lasting or true about it. That’s what you don’t see after the credits roll, after the boy and girl declare their love for each other and walk out of sight. There’s no way the boy could go from pining after his ex to loyal to his new girl just like that, and there’s no way the girl could let go of a lifetime of trust issues and give herself to this new relationship. It’s unrealistic. But the movies don’t show the aftermath, the movies show the calm before the storm.

Don’t think I’m bitter or anything like that- I’m not. If I wanted a boyfriend, I’m sure I could get one easy enough. Boys can be dumb, and I can be nice. How hard could it be? What makes me tick, however, is people’s dependency on their significant other.

“Why don’t you have a boyfriend? I hate being single!” I can’t count how many times this has been exclaimed to me.

You hate being single?? I always think. Weren’t you born alone?

Some people will defend their grotesque dependency on another human life by saying that humans are compatible and harmonious creatures who deserve love, or some bull like that.

Of course you deserve love. You deserve your family’s love and friends’ love, platonic love like that, but please point me to the rule book that says every human deserves romantic affections. And please point me to the line that reiterates that rule so dramatically that people feel like they need love. Desperate people want it, dependent people need it. Both abuse what love is all about.

My freshman year of high school, I was decorating the hallway for spirit week, and my friend and I began talking about his past relationship.

He paused, then said, “Megan, why haven’t you had a boyfriend?” He asked it like it was a traumatic thing, like he was sad for me.

I was taken aback. How could he feel bad for me for not being in a relationship, when he just told me how hurt and broken he was from his relationship with his ex-girlfriend? I felt bad for him, if that’s what he thought having a girlfriend or boyfriend was all about. And I was grossed out that he thought at fourteen years old, I should have already been depending on someone other than myself. I was barely free of my parents reign, living my young, teenage life. Let me live by myself, for myself, for a bit.

I don’t remember exactly what I replied to his preposterous question, but it was probably along the lines of my standard response: Why date if you’re just going to break up? If you’re not dating for a lifelong commitment, you’re dating for heartbreak when the relationship inevitably ends. And at this point in my life, there is no way I would want to be with the person I’m going to be with forever. I’m sixteen! I would be with that person for so long, I would just get tired of them. So what’s the point?

Maybe I’m lucky. I’ve never had the desire for a significant other, and I can’t fathom how other people feel like they need one. Maybe I’m lucky, maybe I’m abnormal, maybe everyone else is just dramatic.

Don’t be upset if you’re in a relationship. If you think it will work out, don’t bother with what I have to say. I don’t care about your life decisions, do whatever you want. But please- quit writing about love. I’m sick of it.