Joycee’s Reviews > The Visitor > Status Update

I basked in the capital L Love I felt for my very own life.

Like so many strivers before me, it was the city that nourished me, housed me, and provided me with aspirational careers and lifestyles to emulate.

And my unfettered existence had a huge upside: emancipation. Just one person calling the shots: me. The thrill of independence in the city cannot be overstated.

He felt he'd done everything right, everything perfectly. And maybe he had. But we just weren't right for each other, and no grand gesture - no matter how excellently executed - could change this fact.

Deep down, I think part of me resented Marco for being in love with me when I wasn't yet in love with myself.

limerence: state of mind resulting from romantic feelings for another person

He was like a fun, colorful, tie-dyed, beaded crop top bought on vacation in Jamaica: theoretically yes, but actually no. You can bring it home, sure, but you can't make it work in New York. It just doesn't make sense.

something about the moment was, much like a kitty pinata, cute but hollow

Movies, TV shows, and romance novels are always subtly (and not so subtly) preaching that, for fairy-tale princesses ... none of the details matter if you're in Love. But does Love always have to mean sacrifice?

My hard (apple) core New Yorker wouldn't entertain the thought.