These days, being a hopeless romantic is decidedly uncool. In an age where swiping on your phone can bring someone to your bedroom, optimism in the dating world is forever frowned upon. Back in the day, it was more than acceptable to meet someone new and become instantly convinced that you’d be together for life. Now, if you went out on a single date and told your friends he was the one for you, they’d laugh you out of brunch, mimosa in hand. We live in a world that’s far more Sex and the City Samantha than Disney fairy tale, and after a couple (dozen) failed first dates, it’s easy to become seriously cynical. Even if you roll your eyes every time someone new approaches you at the bar and secretly scoff at your friends when they tell you they’re falling fast, it’s still entirely possible that you’re not as cynical as you seem…
- You would never even think of turning off a marathon of Say Yes to the Dress. While you would never admit to having a wedding Pinterest board, you do openly discuss your distaste of mermaid gowns and Pnina Tornai’s mesh wedding dresses. From the stories of how they met to the final walk down the aisle, you can’t help but take mental notes for your own wedding.
- Romance novels are your kryptonite. Whether you’re into super duper freaky Fifty Shades type literature (if so, check out Lorelei James immediately) or chick-lit, every book you read has a happy ending, even if you’re still looking for your own. You used to skulk around the romance aisle at Barnes & Noble, but the advent of the Kindle has made your guilty pleasure reading far easier.
- You secretly sing along to country songs. Country is about as cheesy as it comes, but you’re a sucker for an accent and music that’s decidedly not jaded (unlike everything else that’s on the radio these days, no offense to Drake). You might be equally into indie, but that doesn’t mean you don’t know every word to Luke Bryan and Sam Hunt songs. There’s something comforting about music that’s not even close to being cynical. If you have a playlist of love songs that includes at least one country song by a pair of abs and a cowboy hat, you’re happily hopeless.
- Every time you watch The Millionaire Matchmaker you actually hope it works out for them. You know that most of the girls are actually escorts in real life, but that doesn’t stop you from listening to Patti Stanger’s words of wisdom and believing that she really can fix up anybody. If you’ve ever drunkenly applied to be in her club, you might be more hopeless than romantic, but you’re still trying and that’s what counts (not that I speak from experience, obviously).
- Disney princesses are still your secret obsession. You might be an adult (kind of), but that didn’t stop you from seeing the latest live-action Cinderella. Sometimes you wonder if you should find a kid to babysit/have one of your own if you’re really desperate, so that it will be more normal for you to see Frozen 2 in theaters.
- There’s a Pinterest board with all of your wedding fantasies. You would never want a guy to know that you’ve been planning your dream wedding since you were 8, and just waiting for the perfect stand-in groom to go on top of the cake, because that doesn’t exactly scream romance. So, you keep the wedding magazines to a minimum (hopefully 0, unless you’re in a semi-serious relationship), and make sure all of your wedding pins are covert. Other pins include, but are not limited to, adorable babies, inspirational quotes about finding love, and your dream house decor, white picket fence included, even though you’re nowhere near able to afford it.
- You cry during Nicholas Sparks movies, even though you swear you find them beyond cheesy. (Bonus points if you’ve actually read the books, too.) You would never admit to anyone that you tear up every single time you watch The Notebook, despite knowing how it ends. Even though each and every one has the exact same plot and the same kind of faceless piece of man candy, you can’t resist the lure of the inevitable love story and its maudlin conclusion.
- It’s more than likely that you’ve watched incredibly embarrassing teen TV. You love a solid amount of angst and a guaranteed happy ending, which leads to purchasing a wide variety of embarrassing books on Amazon and having Netflix recommendations that are even too cheesy for you. Unfortunately, while more “adult” shows like Mad Men and Game of Thrones are always solid bets, you like make outs more than murder.
- You still can’t get used to the popularity of app dating. In your mind, you’ll meet the love of your life when fate presents him to you when you least expect it. You’re not ready to accept that the real world consists of “what’s up” messages on Tinder and “what’s up” late night texts, instead of grand gestures and love songs that are Grammy deserving.
- Meet-cutes are on your brain daily. Whether you’re in a cute coffee shop or heading to a festival, in the back of your mind you hope that the dude of your dreams is waiting. Instead, you wind up wasting an outfit while running errands and staring down guys who are really out with their boyfriends.