Athena-chan Returns

I have always said that The Notebook is my favorite movie.
Yes, the old chick-flick with Rachel McAdams and Ryan Gosling.

I have loved it since high school when I saw it for the first time (I did not watch it when it first came out in 2004, I was too young for it back then) because I was dating my first boyfriend of my life at the time and I just resonated so much with the pure display of love between Allie and Noah.

The two of them laughing together as they swam in a lake during the summer?
The scene where they share ice cream? The part where they dance at night in the middle of the streets? Oof I die for those scenes. I felt like I was Allie and my boyfriend at the time was Noah. (Spoiler: my first boyfriend was *nothing* like Noah, but that’s for another time lol)

Now, I still love the movie because it remains as a beacon of hope for the type of love I want for myself. The dating scene in 2026 is *nothing* like how romance unravels in The Notebook but every time I watch it I am reminded of the type of love possible. Yes it’s a movie (as in fiction) but I have felt the same type of love before, so I know it’s not completely fiction.

(No, this is not me saying that I still have feelings for my high school ex boyfriend that I have not talked to in 15 years. It’s so not that.)

The type of attraction I have when I begin to like someone is almost instantaneous and instinctive. It’s not so much love at first sight, but a weird 6th sense almost. But in a world of dating apps and looking for a “partner” it’s so easy to get caught up in the checklist of wants/expectations instead of trusting your gut. I do believe that if you’re meant to be with someone then it will be easy. There will be no strategizing or optimizing, it will just happen. (See, I told you I’m a cancer)