As a freshman, I realized that I saw the world a little differently than everybody else. I had such a wild imagination that delved into writing and daydreaming and most of all, I was always innately optimistic. I had a great hope for the majority of things and I liked wishing and expecting good outcomes, because, hey, what did I really have to lose?

I’ve never been a good realist. I’m the kind of girl that saw La La Land and inwardly wished that Mia and Sebastian would have ended up together, because the romance of it all kind of overpowered the realism of the situation. I was also the kind of kid, growing up, that was trapped in the emotion and dramatics of life. As for movies and books, I gravitated towards the flair of whimsical, wild narratives. So, it was plain as day that I was a self-diagnosed romantic with a weak spot for all things fantastical.

In relationships and generally in life, there are two kinds of people: romantics and realists. Romantics don’t generally have to be into everything mushy and impossible, because that is definitely not me at all. Romantics are people who are emotion-driven, who place higher importance in intuition over sensing, and whose hearts sometimes overpower the voice of the concrete mind. There is a greater stress in feeling and in how you personally see the world, whether it is through rose colored glasses or transparent for what it is. The latter of viewpoints represents realism. Realism is not at all the inferior of the two, because it’s a mindset and neither can be subjectively superior. Realism emphasizes factual thinking and deduction over what you might feel at the time. You might want to do something or you might feel inclined to act on a stimulus, but the realist mind will do what is the calculated best option. It’s very practical with a keen sense of awareness right in that moment. Realists are present and ready to act with the most thoughtful of movements.

Now, you definitely have a leaning towards one or the other, but harnessing the strengths and weakness of both personalities comes in finding a balance between the two. For me, it comes in giving what I want to do a little bit more thought before my body gets ahead of me. More romantic thinkers sometimes need to stop and weigh the options a little bit more than the typical realist. On the flipside, realists find creativity and self-expression a little more difficult. With more nurturing of the myth-based right brain, the center of our supposed creativity, realists find an easier time putting situations in a more optimistic and free-flowing light.

To get it just right, you need to find your best of both worlds. Figure out which side you lean towards and balance out the rest, that way every aspect of your decision-making and how you see the world is with a realist’s deduction and a romantic’s buoyant imagination.