My Psyche Hurts

This semester is going to be great and terrible at the same time. I'm taking 9 credits, and two of those are Lit classes - Lit and Film, and Contemporary American Lit (at least I think that's what the class is - our first book is the English Patient whose author doesn't seem to be American, but it is very postmodern, so whatever.) Anyway, I am supposed to read a 200 page book about the psychology of romance by tomorrow and The English Patient by Friday and I am going crazy already. Thank goodness Phoenix is in my future to keep me sane.
That said, the reading I've been doing is very interesting; apparently romance can be an addiction just like anything else, and I believe the symptoms are running rampant in Provo. So for your enjoyment (drumroll)
YOU MIGHT BE A ROMANCE ADDICT IF:

• you are more concerned with the idea of being in love than with any actual person, i.e. I need a man.
• "someday my prince will come" is not a fantasy but a real expectation
• you are more concerned with romantic setting and situations than with the actual person opposite you in the situation
• you live in the future
• you believe that if the situation was perfect - cute meeting story, romantic first date, etc. everything will work out
• you have low self-esteem and believe that if only you were more perfect you'd be able to attract that perfect prince or princess
• you believe in instant intimacy - love at first sight, "our eyes met and I just knew he was the one I'd been looking for all my life," "we just had this instant connection."

It really is a pretty facinating idea, especially since I hear stories all the time about people who knew they were in love in a matter of days and weeks. I guess it happens sometimes, but I often worry that those people are just in love with the thrill and will wake up not knowing the person to whom they are married. There are real things that need to be discussed before marriage, because it involves a lot of things that are not romantic at all, like changing diapers and washing dishes. If you haven't formed a lasting relationship based on trust and real love (not "romance") then how will you react when the glass slippers get buried in the backyard by the dog, who then proceeds to track mud all over the house?
This also made a lot of sense to me as far as my friends who disappear off the face of the planet when they get married are concerned. In class we talked about how romance is exclusive and causes you to remove yourself from your reality, while real love is inclusive. It has always seemed to me that the most well-adjusted people I knew were still around from time to time while they were in a relationship. (Props to Lili, Jonathan, and Miri - Miri was AWOL for awhile, but she seems to be back to stay now, and we're so glad to have her. Y'all stayed alive and in a relationship at the same time - impressive.)
My other favorite point was that in order to have a whole person to offer to another person, one must establish his or her own unigue identity. How can you come to know a person and let them get to know you if you don't know yourself? I've always thought that this was an important concept - I'm glad that I have some psychological backing now.
Anyway, I'll stop boring you with my findings, but don't be surprised if you see more posts about my classes and books, because they will basically be my life for the next few weeks.
Speaking of which, I'd better get back to the crazy person who is explaining to me why understanding the Jungian reading of Tristan and Iseult will save Western culturen and my own sanity. Sigh...