I don't think you will ever truly learn something until you make a mistake out of it. And I'm not saying that you should run out there on the street and make mistake immediately and intentionally. That would be plain stupid. I'm saying that if you can see through those mistakes, you are less likely to repeat them. It's a lot like love and romance. Love and romance cannot co-exist. At least not in the way you want it to be.
Romance is candy-like. It is all sweet and sugary. The moment it touches even the tip of your tongue, you will feel the unspeakable joy. The true sensation of happiness.
But it melts just as quickly.
Now what remains after that is love. Love is the remainder of romance. When you're young and free and naive, all you wanted was romance. You can put the blame on anything. I personally blame those Asian drama series that infiltrated our media in the late 1900s. Whatever triggers this obsession with romance, one thing that was clear is that the effect was outrageous.
But once you get older and had your heart broken, smashed, crushed, slammed into walls after walls, or even had a temporary heart failure, you will eventually learn one significant lesson.
That love beats romance any time. You can't live with romance forever. You have to realize that with romance comes expectation. Expectation was the one that broke your heart. Love won't do that to you. Because with love comes acceptance. It comes with the knowledge that the candy will melt and the sweetness will fade. And yet, it doesn't bother you as much as you thought it would.
Because sometimes once you build a life with someone, you will learn to forget romance in order to learn to live together with love. Love is not what's in it for you. It's how much you can give as you grow old together. Be realistic. You can't forever be Edward and Bella.
If you really want to love, learn to love like Snape loves Lily.
