Love at First Sight: Fact or Fiction?

I consider myself somewhat of a hopeless romantic. Yes, I've fantasized about the destined romances depicted in movies and the perfect love affairs that follow one simple glance, but I'm not naive. When it comes to love at first sight, that's something I find hard to take seriously.  How could two people possibly fall in love without knowing anything about each other?

For those who "just know" that they've met their match off the basis of one vague interaction, how could you form a romance without so much as a word?  A spark, an attraction, and even a connection may be found at first sight, but a complex feeling such as love is more difficult to pinpoint.  Spending time together, getting to know each other and finding your counterpart in another is something that involves divulging deeper into another's history and personality.  The first moments of a meeting may determine if you feel that relationship could have a future, but it can hardly make you fall in love. Love is so hard to find simply because it takes time to develop, and it is an emotion so wrought over when lost because of its rarity.  It couldn't possibly be such a simple process.

I find that the majority of people who claim that "it was love at first sight" are those whose relationships have worked out in the long-run, so they romanticize their initial interaction because they feel safe doing so.  Why shouldn't they? Their "just knowing" ended up being accurate.  As for those who were misled by an instant connection, you will rarely hear them boast about this instinctive feeling.

The next time you feel drawn to a guy, don't set yourself up for disappointment by calling it destiny off the bat, remember that love takes time, and that eye contact does not substitute for getting to know each other on a more intimate level.