It seems harsh, but you’d think after years of avoiding dates, rare relationships gone awry and that one long-term fling that, as the contradictory term notes, wasn’t so long-term after all, someone would just come out and say it.
There is no such thing as a soulmate. Wake up. Don’t delude yourself. Love isn’t a game of waiting for the right one or skirting public places hoping for that moment of eye contact that changes your life, as though you were living the lyrical lines of a 1990s pop ballad. Life isn’t magical, or a fairytale of sorts; most of it is hard, harsh, and bittersweet, and love is all the same. It’s about trying, trying, and trying again.
But who has the heart for that? Divorce rates are proof – in 2010, the Daily Beast featured Orlando as one of the 50 “divorce capitals” of the country. Jumping into relationships and being flung around emotionally again and again either requires a giant’s share of courage, or the soul of a masochist – and let’s face it, you’re neither. You need something else. Something better, and safer.
And it exists. They’ve been around for decades and centuries: real-life cupids, love doctors and matchmakers, people who make a living studying you and the type of person who would be perfect for you. They make their match and the best ones are almost never wrong.
With the advent of the 21st century, love has never been so complicated. People can make detailed profiles of their potential partner with so much as a few keystrokes on Google, and they can browse through years’ worth of photos, status updates, tweets and opinions on social media. Over 70 percent of all Americans utilize social media today—that’s hundreds of millions of people whose lives are up for scrutiny.
Then there’s the dozens of ways in which people can talk to each other—everywhere, and at any time. Texting, chatting, tweeting, emails, video calls and regular calls on hundreds of different platforms. Emotions are turned into emojis, essays into tweets, and moments at dinner into moments over Skype.
It can be a crazy world to date in. But with the right help, it can also be a beautiful, new world to brave together. If you’re no Casanova, and you’re ready to stop believing in what the romance genre has been spouting for centuries, then you’re ready for real love. All you need is a little courage, and the right matchmaker for the job.
