WHEN ROMEO FINDS JULIET...

Romeo finds himself in a whirl of music, laughter, merriment and masqueraders in the Capulet's ball. Then he finds Juliet. Sparks fly. Music dies down and everything else melts into oblivion. Only that warm and fuzzy feeling remains. And then it hits him. He's inlove. Romantic huh? But is it bound to happen in real life?

Love at first sight: real love? or simply a romanticized term for "infatuation"?

For years I have been led by the fantasies of meeting the man who'd sweep me off my feet at the first glance. Blame it on chic flics and fairy tales I guess. Nothing would be as romantic as finding a(n almost) total stranger across the bar or in some party who, at first glance, you start having this uncanny link between the two of you and the next thing you know, you imagine yourself being swept up on his mighty steed and into the magical castle where you'll live happily ever after in an imaginary marital bliss. Sweet thought, but would you call this real love?

This has been an ongoing debate. A school of thought would say it's all BS, saying that loving a person without totally knowing them is not possible. Love at first sight is all based on attraction in the superficial aspects of the other person. Simply put, it's just a sugar coated term for "infatuation". On the other hand, some say that there is a certain, albeit elusive, truth to that myth. One scientific fact could back that up:

"...a recent study published in the Journal of Social and Personal Relationships showed that the first few minutes of meeting someone has a huge influence on the course the relationship will ultimately take. (Which explains why you know before the drinks come that your "just perfect for you" blind date is a no-go, or that hunky online hottie has definite possibilities.)..."

(for more details, check out this website: http://health.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=49333)

CONCLUSION

Love at first sight is a possibility when you're 18 and you're incredibly attracted to some guy you just met in your 18th birthday. I always believed I did. But when things went sour between me and that guy a month or two after, it seemed the whole notion lost its glamour and magic. Little by little, it has become more than a myth than a reality to me. Well, call me a cynic but then experience has taught me alot of things about love. That with or without any scientific basis on chemistry or pre-determined relationship with someone you just met a couple of minutes ago, love never happens at a snap of a finger. Romance, yes. You can be swept off your feet in just 10 minutes but then there is no guarantee that he'd be the proverbial "one" we have always dreamed about. That the same qualities that you might have fallen in love with might be the same qualities that might agitate you 5 years later. Case in point, let's say you find a beautiful house in some suburb and you jump at any chance it's sold at a very reasonable price. Then a few months after closing the deal, you discover that a family was murdered in that house a couple of years ago and it's now infested with God-knows-what-evil-forces-lie-upon. Surely, you wouldn't be looking at the house the same you did a couple of months ago when you're dying to get your hands on the keys to that house. Morbid analogy but hey, you get the point. It's romantic bliss until you uncover the bitter truth about the person. And surely, it ain't gonna be pretty.

I also learned that love goes beyond physical attraction, but the heck, it's no rocket science. It is accepting the person despite who he is, flaws and all. No brainer, but it took me 5 years to figure that out. And now, looking back on my past relationships and at the person standing right next to me, I now toss the notion of "love at first sight" in the trash bin.

And going back to the whole "Romeo and Juliet" phenomenon, well, try to imagine what life would be for both of them if they both survived their tragedy. Would've been even more tragic, don't you think?