My Take on Romanticism

Is it just me or has romanticism or the act of being “romantic” grown more prevalent over the years? I believe we have all heard of the term romanticism before, whether that be from an English or history class you may have taken or a movie or a book you saw or read. Whatever it may have been that caused you to stumble upon the term, do you know or remember what it means? In its most popular definition, romanticism was an artistic movement in the 18th century. Art and literature was the more common mode of spreading inspiration, what it is to be human, and most importantly, emotions. Emotions are typically what most would think about when hearing the term romanticism. The other definition is what I mentioned before: the state or quality of being romantic or a romanticist. This is what I will be talking about in this essay.

Personally, I think romanticism can be used as a tool to see the good in life. By this I mean, instead of dreading the coming days and constantly worrying and stressing about the bad, romanticizing ones life can help with that. I know we all sometimes get stuck in the constant loop of “I just gotta make it to Friday,” or “I don’t want to go to work today or do this work today.” Instead of thinking about the work that’s got to be done, think about it in a different light. Step out some place new. If it’s a nice day outside, put on your headphones and walk to your nearest coffee shop or library. On the way there, take a few minutes to enjoy the scenery. When you get there, order yourself a coffee and/or a light snack and make a plan. How are you going to tackle that workload you were dreading? How are you going to make it manageable? I often find myself getting stuck in the loop of “I do not want to go to school today, omg” knowing that I’m going to go, anyway. Instead of complaining about the inevitable, I try my best to make it manageable. What am I going to do when I get there? What am I going to do after class? What am I going to do when I get home? That’s what I think about. How I go about it is different. I try not to be in the same place and if I have to be in the same place, I let it be somewhere I like, such as the library. I get there and start my work and take breaks in between because I don’t want to burn myself out, especially at the beginning of the week. But that is my advice based on my personal experiences. Take a walk. Take in the scenery. Act like you’re one of those hardworking people like Rory Gilmore or Paris Geller. Unwind and go on solo dates. Buy yourself flowers. Go to thrift stores. Act like your life is a movie and do things that make you happy.

On my social media, I conducted a questionnaire asking people what they think about romanticism and their experiences concerning romanticism. One of the responses read, “Romanticism, in my opinion, can be a weapon or a weakness. If used in the wrong way, it can turn into delusions instead of a positive mindset, therefore, [worsening] quality of life. In my opinion, romanticism shouldn’t be used as a way to see other people, but [as] a way to view life [such as] seeing the positive things.” This leads me to my next point.

Romanticism can bring people a sense of connection within nature and a feeling of being in-tune with themselves and their thoughts and emotions. And while those things are good and worthwhile, it is important to understand that you should not go too far beyond just that. Romanticism can bring an exuberance of emotion over reason and feeling or senses over intellect, and while that carefree feeling can be nice to have, it is a high you would not want to ride for too long. It can lead people to overlook things and keep people from being objective in certain situations, such as relationships.

Romanticism is a tool for life not meant to be abused, but embraced. It is art. And as Paul Cézanne said, “Life is art. Art is life. I never separate it.”