Daydream Believer

Since the beginning of 2022, I have been brushing up on my French skills. Every day, I open Duolingo and practice. No one in my life speaks French. I only get to use my skill when I’m watching French television shows and movies. Since college, I planned to run away to France. Paris, the countryside, or any place in the country to get away from life. A daydream, most certainly since life cannot be left behind but a sweet one to enjoy. 

And recently between life and world events, I would love to run away, leave it all behind and live a romanticized life, stress-free. Sure, I’m realistic enough to know it will never happen yet, but it turns out having the daydream is good for my health. Daydreaming is good for our mental health according to recent studies. Getting lost in our daydreams is a positive way to connect with ourselves. It helps our mood and even our sense of meaning. And if you are a writer or creative, it can help stir those thoughts. I know that when I return from my beautiful farmhouse in the French countryside, I feel calmer, and better able to deal with life stress. My heart rate is calmer and my shoulders have lost all their tension. 

Your teachers might have told you to stop daydreaming but they were wrong so dream away and feel better. Please share your daydream if you wish. 

The Romance Genre Is Real Life

All The Hate

The romance genre is considered nothing more than a marshmallow—fluffy, saccharine treat that benefits no one. The New York Times doesn't even bother covering the genre. People call them bodice rippers or women's porn. The genre is considered frivolous escapism that is fake. Life doesn’t end in Happily Ever After.  

I disagree. The Romance Genre is real life. Perhaps, there aren't hundreds of dukes or billionaires. Those aspects of the genre are the dressing not the inner soul of the genre. This genre reflects real life. 

All The Feels

In the pages of a novel, you read these words, dealing with universal emotions. Love, fear, hate, insecurity, yearning even hatred. Just as in real life, we deal with those emotions. Think about the Presidential race. Your emotions must have been high, feeling rage at the candidates (whoever you voted for) and defensive behavior for the candidate you supported. Emotions bombard us every day like meteors striking the earth. Through, reading romance one can learn how to deal with emotions in a different way, expand their understanding of the human race and the self. 

We In The Pages

Self—life has a way of wounding our internal self. We develop flaws and beliefs about ourselves that are not necessarily true or need to be overcome. As with the romances' main characters, we go through life, searching for contentment in our lives. We must learn to resolve those issues or the happiness we seek (in whatever form you desire) will forever be out of your reach. That’s why we keep on dating the guys we should stay far from or don’t demand the raise we deserve or go after our dreams. The romance genre tells you, again and again, to fix yourself—self-care if you want to call it that. 

The Outside

But this doesn’t happen just in the pages of the romance. In real life, we deal with external conflict. Those people, events, or just life that we must deal with. It could be the job that your hate or the boss that annoys you. It can be caring for an aging parent while working, full-time, and caring for kids. It can be heading off to war or even dealing with a neighbor who annoys you. Life lives to throw things at people so we are forced to strive for what is most important in our lives. That isn’t all the romance genre does. Stories revolve around issues we deal with in life. Sexism. Illness, Family issues. Death. And so much more. The genre shows you a slice of life. Since most romance authors are women—they write about issues that women face in this world. 

All Hail Romance

The romance genre is real life, just dressed up in a story that will leave you satisfied and hopefully, feeling more hopeful about life than you did before. So, raise your romance paperback high and be proud.