Soul Mates
“Yep he brought me a ring yesterday.” I smiled at my friend, as she held out her hand and the fake ring shined against the sun.
“Wow, so when’s the wedding?” I was happy for her, but it felt kind of weird having this conversation with a seventeen year old, someone a year older than me.
“This summer.” Right after she turned eighteen of course. She looked at me hopefully, “Will you be my bridesmaid?”
I cringed, how the heck would I tell my mom I was going to be a bridesmaid?
“Uh, sure.”
She grew excited and hugged me, telling me all the plans for her wedding with her soul mate. And he seemed to be, they had been together since seventh grade.
Except it was three months later when I saw her in the quad a sour look on her face. “Hey where’s your fiancée?” I asked.
“We broke up.” She said defensively, I had to apologize several times, and then listen to the story over and over again. And I realized how much I should hate him now, just as she did.
It was five months later that she talked of a new boyfriend, “Can you keep a secret?” I agreed, and I was shocked to see tattoo on her back, “That’s my new boyfriend.”
“Together forever?” I asked.
“Definitely, he’s my soul mate.” She smiled as happy as ever.
Situations like this have been common in a lot of people I know, as well
as my life. It has been the facts of life since the fifth grade. And as my classmates and I get older, we seem to believe in soul mates less and less. The more we fall in love; it seems the more bitter we become. It makes me wonder if soul mates really do exist. Or are they just as impossible to find as a hidden treasure.
Everyone wants to believe that they have true love, with their one and only. People rush off to chapels to get married, and profess to be together always. And then everyone can notice the divorce ratios out there. All a sudden people start saying, “I love you, but I’m not ready to get married.” And that’s how some people live for several years on end, some with children some with out.
Then there’s the people that get married, and regret it only some years later. Being with the same person for years having kids, but never feeling anything close to what they felt years before when they said their vows. Their children can notice and see their bickering, and they too have to wonder if this is what love is all about. [A real Married With Children sort of life.]
Then there are the literary examples. The story of Romeo and Juliet, young star-crossed lovers doomed for tragedy. Although many would like to argue, “A pair of horny teenagers”, who in real life would be too young for love and all that it entails.
And if most of us kids are too dumb to read, or see any plays we’ve seen the famous Disney movies.
All us 1990's babies are familiar with them: Aladdin, The Little Mermaid, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, and Beauty and the Beast. When we were little girls they were cute to us, fantasizes, the best movies we ever saw. But we had no idea of the effect they had on us.
How would Amanda know she was going to grow up with false expectations of the world? And how would I know I would end wanting one thing out of life, the one thing that’s rare to come by.
There’s romance on T.V, such as the show One Tree Hill. It’s not an official soap opera, but the character fall in and out of love so many times it’s unreal. The main character Lucas Scott played by Chad Michael Murray grows through a gamut of soul mates in the shows six seasons. Lucas falls in love with Peyton, then Brook, Peyton, Lindsey, and Peyton again five thousand times. (The actor who plays him was actually married to his co-star Sophia Bush [Who played Brook]. Less than a year later the marriage was done for and soon after Chad Michael Murray was married again.) His character got dumped on his wedding day to Lindsey and now he’s engaged to Peyton, except now he’s eyeing Lindsey in a particular way. It’s for this plot theme alone [Not to mention the amount of car crashes on that show] that my friend Amber will not watch the show anymore. It seems no one can tell [writers of the show included] who is supposed to end up with who, although at the moment Peyton and Lucas seem to be the “now” soul mates.
There was examples of soul mates spread everywhere in our culture, but mostly T.V. And if it’s not a scripted who, then it’s a dating show. You know the one’s classified as trash T.V. [Yes even the bachelor]. The Flavor of Love 1-3, I Love New York 1-2, A Shot at Love with Tila Tequita 1-2, The Rock of Love and not to mention the new shows coming out, “A Real Chance at Love” spin of I Love New York, The Rock of Love 3, and some dating show with Ray J. The reason these shows get so many views is because people watching at home know that finding love on T.V. is not likely, they love to watch the tragedy unfold. And get even more amused as season after season comes out with someone desperate enough, still looking for love. This seems to be the new hot thing on T.V, these days.
People tend to have romantic ideals about life, unrealistic hopes, with is way we see display on soul mates more common on T.V, then our actual lives. Soul mates are just an expanded idea of everyday life. Soul mates can be real however we are individually willing to define then, as a concrete idea. But not something that’s tangible and common. Soul mates can’t be meant for everyone that everyone is romantic not everyone wants a soul mate. I believe having a soul mate takes intellect. Soul mates are real; soul mates do exist just like love exists in our hearts.
Remember though, not everyone is capable of love, not everyone think love is something important. Love and soul mates are interchangeable ideals that not everyone can understand. Soul mates are real as we are willing to make them.
