This past week I finally went to go see Crazy, Stupid, Love, and it occurred to me that so many people give up on the idea of love and/or soul mates when relationships don't turn out the way they expected. I know that I have felt this way and I am sure so many people out there have as well. You get to a point where you become jaded from past relationships, and you start to believe that fairytales and true love don't exist. When I was watching the movie, I began wondering when I became so pessimistic about relationships and how I could let myself stop believing in the idea of happy endings. When we are younger, we believe in love and all the great things it has to offer us. As we grow up, things happen and we start to lose that innocence we used to possess.

I am sure most of you grew up watching Disney films, just like I did. The tales of the prince who saves the damsel in distress are all too familiar. Disney's fairytales presented the idea of romance and true love overcoming all, which gave us something to look forward to. We then grow up and hear society destroy the fairytales that we once believed in. Look at Beauty and the Beast: a man turns into a beast, treats Belle like crap and holds her against her will, and then she falls in love with him — seriously, what kind of story is that? Even the idea that Belle changed him into a better man is improbable — we've all been there, trying to turn a beast into Prince Charming, and it doesn't work out as well in the real world. Please! You can go on about every Disney movie ever made and break them down into how they objectify women, make them seem weak and like they need a man to save them. No one really lives happily ever after like in a Disney movie. Don't even get me started on Ariel trading in her fins for legs to win over Prince Eric.

Why do we feel the need to break down everything we once believed in as children? Why can't we just believe in happily ever after? Is it because many of us are children of divorce and we see that love doesn't always work out and that there might not be a happy ending?

When we start dating and things don't work out, we start to think that maybe fairytales don't really exist. My cousin Julia would always tell me, "You have to kiss a lot of frogs before you find that prince," but seriously, sometimes you just get tired of kissing frogs because it never ends well and it's not worth the time or the possibility of getting warts. But does this mean we should stop trying? Life is full of surprises — some worse than others — but that shouldn't deter us from trying again.

Everything happens for a reason, even those failed relationships. Sure, in the beginning, it might be hard to accept, but as time goes on you start to see that things happen for a reason. I know there was a reason it never worked out and I'm glad that it didn't. Would I still want to be with the guy who cheats on his girlfriend or the guy who is extremely jealous? Hell no! So maybe you got your heart broken and that frog didn't turn out to be your prince, but it doesn't mean that there aren't other frogs in the pond, waiting to be transformed.

It was difficult writing this article because no matter how pessimistic life may make us, deep down we still continue to hold our belief that our frog will someday turn into a prince. Even though it might be a childish thought, I can't seem to shake the thought that happily ever after could be right around the corner. Sometimes you just have to believe in fairytales.