I am a sucker for a love story. When I think of some of my favorite books, I tend to lean toward sappy love stories with plotlines that take you on an emotional rollercoaster from start to finish. These stories tend to be fictional, but a few years ago I discovered the treasure trove of stories the New York Times puts together weekly — Modern Love.
Modern Love began 15 years ago as a weekly column where readers would send anonymous stories of love, relationships, break-ups and so much more. These stories revolve around any and all aspects of relationships, whatever that may entail. The column has now expanded in a podcast and now, in celebration of their 15 years, Amazon has created a series to portray some of their most-cherished stories.
The TV series has a star-studded cast including Anne Hathaway, Tina Fey and many more. Already, it has received 4.4 stars on Amazon Prime and is proving to be an original series for the books. This is because these stories are, mostly, true. Therefore, each one feels more authentic and relatable to viewers.
Truly, this is an excellent series if you are a sucker for love stories. The writing for each is unique. There is an episode reminiscent of “La La Land” with song and dance included. Others deal with divorce, mental illness and infidelity — real fears people face when choosing to be in a relationship.
Compelling stories people face every day are realized through this series and broadcast in a genuine way. Heartbreak can be harsh, but it is so important to so many love stories. We all yearn for this deep love; how you could not? Love, described in these columns and stories, is played out in ways each of us has seen in our lives. We are all playing a larger role in the love stories the world tells over and over again. I encourage you to watch this series and feel deeply for those who submitted these stories.
The episodes are exaggerated and dramatized. In fact, this series has received some backlash about not portraying the writers as they truly are. However, this shouldn’t stop you from reading, listening and watching and thoroughly enjoying the stories being told in these articles, podcasts and episodes.
The New York Times compiled several favorite Modern Love stories that can be found on their website under the title “25 Modern Love Essays to Read if You Want to Laugh, Cringe and Cry.” I encourage you to read a few of these if you are skeptical of love stories. However, love is universal and, therefore, understood. Please laugh, cringe and cry like you do when a friend tells you an embarrassing crush story or about their hardest break-up ever.
In these stories, readers find solace in knowing they are not alone in the good, bad and ugly relationships. They make you realize that love is evident in all kinds of different situations. Modern Love is a masterpiece in a time when “love” has gone digital, and simply asking someone on a date face-to-face seems to be taboo.
I am hoping to receive a few of our own Modern Love stories — I am sure we have plenty of these stories among us on campus that could teach us a thing or two about how to love each other better.
