A Little Bit of This and That and Love

A week ago I wrote this piece for ADR3NALIN3, the other blog on post on, on what insta-love really is. I still stand by what I wrote there, but I do want to clarify a few things. 

"And while we might not see every single trial and tribulation they go through, there are very few literary couples that have everything so perfect from beginning to end. Actually, I can’t think of one. So much of the criticism surrounding insta-love is that it happens so quickly. One moment and it’s over. Love has been had. That’s it. In reality, those moments of instant connection are just the beginning of a more delicate love. There are different stages of love, each of them simple and complex at the same time. And while there are those who think literary criticism and real life opinions should stay separate, I think that, like love, nothing is so black and white. So, to call the idea of “insta-love” or “love at first sight” unrealistic would be accurate only if that was all that happened. But that’s not exactly the complete version of love, it’s the beginnings of it. A much better term for the insta-love connection we see so regularly in literature would be “insta-kind-of-love-but-really-thinking-about-becoming-love” because love, in reality and in literature, is so much more than that first connection. It’s about building upon that first connection, whether it’s a good or bad one. Through the tough times and the easy. And while it does all have to start somewhere, that moment of first sight is not where it ends. That, after all, wouldn’t be any kind of love story. Love surrounds all the great moments in life. For some of us, these moments just happen in an instant and stay around long after."

What I mean is this: The stories we read about in novels are just moments of much larger stories. Like looking at a photograph, we're only giving a moment in time. So, perhaps we're looking at the moment in which love happens. Perhaps not. Either way, I think it's important to realize that even though love or something like it may happen within the first few pages of a story, that certainly doesn't mean it's the end. Or even the beginning. There are all different kinds of love, but not one that ends as quickly as it begins. A first connection should not define a story. Rather, it should enhance the urgency we often read about in literature that is so often missed in real life. 

So, fall in love. 

Take risks. 

Live in the moment.  

Love surrounds all the great moments in life.

ALSO REMEMBER THAT THE SHADES OF THE STARS COVER REVEAL TOUR IS NEXT WEEK! SO CHECK BACK ON MONDAY FOR THE COMPLETE LIST OF BLOGS!