Your Heart is My Piñata

"Your Heart is my Piñata" (Chuck Palahnuik)

I study English Literature and the A2 part of my course is Love Through The Ages. For this reason, I found myself looking up quotes about romantic love for the exam and found some that are so true it is hilarious to read them. My personal favourite is the title of this blog post. I just have to clarify, no one's heart is my piñata - my heart is most definitely their piñata. I probably mind about that less than I should.

I will shamelessly admit that usually I adore this topic. There aren't many courses where your homework is to have an in-depth look at the library scene in Atonement - you know which one I mean. I had to go have a lie down after reading that. Sometimes though, it can hit a little too close to home when you see yourself reflected in a character. It makes you take a little look at yourself and what you're doing and wonder if it's really in your own, or the other person's, interest. A classic example of me reading too much into everything.

I am obsessed with quotes. It's a talent I have, that I can basically recite quite a lot of poetry, the majority of songs I like and whole sections from my favourite movies and books. In some ways it's a little pathetic. One of the best quotes I found for my course was: "Love in action is a harsh and dreadful thing compared to love in dreams" (Dostroyevsky). It is so disgustingly true. Fiction, or at least the sort you read and watch pre-teenage, does not prepare you for a real-life relationship. A long time before I managed to find myself a boyfriend I had a very well thought out picture of what he should be like. Of course, he was not like that. Generally you find they are better than you imagine, mainly because they are real. A real guy wanting to sit and watch daytime TV with you or go buy his weekly shopping in your company is so much better than any imagined declarations of undying love and deliveries of roses. Although I would not object to some roses.

Fellows like Keats declared how "love is my religion - I could die for it", but really, what does he mean? The word love gets bandied about a lot and everyone has a slightly different opinion on the whole issue. It can all get a little silly. "Love is the triumph of imagination over intelligence" according to Mencken and I think that is probably true. For some reason, despite being piñata-ed about a bit, we keep on coming back for more. It's human nature - and has definite perks.