The worst part about dating is the love songs

I am in my first long-term relationship right now. Context: I have not had a long-term relationship before this my thirty-eighth year because 1) I'm not pretty and don't use makeup to give myself the appearance of pretty, so nobody looks at me, and 2) I am shy and really struggle to make the first approach, which is apparently the thing that happens in this modern dating era. I've had twenty years of love songs and romance movies, TV shows, and books influencing how I think a romance is supposed to go. How it's supposed to feel. Love at first sight. Sparks and lightning and powerful emotions. True love. Destiny. Fate. Breathless. Madly. Meet-cutes and deep kisses and flowers. All the cliches you can think of. And I don't have an older sister to learn from her relationships. All of my brothers that are married had their courtship very far away, so I couldn't even watch that. I don't have many long-term friends, so I haven't been able to experience vicarious relationships. So I've…

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