What Happened To All the Love Letters

February 20, 2023
2 mins read

Is romance really dead? 

Words By Ambar Ramirez

 

I know what you’re thinking. We are done with the standards the patriarchy has instilled, and we don’t need outside validation as we should all love ourselves. And I am all for that. I write love letters to myself all the time and buy myself flowers and so on. But let’s be honest. Every now and then, it wouldn’t hurt to receive a personalized mixtape or a love letter that doesn’t end with “xoxo, yourself.” And for me it’s not about needing validation (though, I would be lying if I didn’t admit that I ask my boyfriend constantly if he still loves me) but about having that special someone who will go above and beyond to show me he loves me without having to ask for it. I once had a boy “indirectly” tweet about me and that was the closest thing I got to a love letter. Seriously… tweets! But I can’t speak for the whole as I am just one 23-year-old living in a man’s, man’s, man’s world, as James Brown put it.

 

Of course, love and relationships are a two-way street. And the root of the dying form of letters and personalized mixtapes isn’t due to romance being dead, rather it just being different … more evolved. No, it doesn’t help that we live in a digital world where handwritten letters are probably sent through text and dating sites have made finding love much like shopping online. But it’s more than that. Gen Z are more comfortable swimming within the gray areas of relationships. We’d rather stay single or in “situationships” than settle down with the wrong person. Which, can you blame us? Considering that most Gen Z and millennials are children of divorced parents (not all, but most), the only examples of “true love” we have to look up to are couples from rom-coms. That’s right. Fabricated relationships glamorized for the screen. So it’s no wonder that most of us are disappointed when we don’t get our own intimate kissing in the rain scene. Also, while back in the day women had no other choice but to depend on men for financial stability and married just to fit the societal standards at the time, now women and men can provide for themselves. And some would rather be financially independent before bringing others into the mix. 

 

While the traditional sense of romance is dead, a new and evolved idea of romance is looming. This generation is more into prioritizing themselves rather than basing the trajectory of their life on a relationship. That is, we are more in love with the idea of independence and the ever-changing aspects of life. More in love with the idea of loving ourselves before we love others. 

 

So love letters and mixtapes have gone where all other things go to die, the past. But just as some advise, it wouldn’t hurt to get crafty when giving to your partner or even to yourself. 

Flipping through magazines for as long as she can remember, Ambar Ramirez has always known she wanted to be a journalist. Fast forward, Ambar is now a multimedia journalist and creative for Folio Weekly. As a recent graduate from the University of North Florida, she has written stories for the university’s newspaper as well as for personal blogs. Though mainly a writer, Ambar also designs and dabbles in photography. If not working on the latest story or design project, she is usually cozied up in bed with a good book or at a thrift store buying more clothes she doesn’t need.

Current Issue

SUBMIT EVENTS

Submit Events

Advertisements

SingOutLoadFestival_TheAmp_2025
liz-buys-houses-digital
generac-home-standby-generator-banners

Date

Title

Current Month

Follow FOLIO!

Previous Story

February Horoscopes with Most and Least Compatible

Next Story

Love At First Swipe

Latest from Feature

Get Your Golden Ticket to a Sweet Take on a Classic at the Alhambra

CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY, THE NEW MUSICAL is a very different take on the classic based on the book by Roald Dahl.  If you’re expecting the songs from the original musical or movie, for the most part, they have new counterparts.  When the show moved from the West End

Listen Locally

May 16  “Blest” – Yuno Former Jacksonville local artist Yuno dropped a new album “Blest” this spring. The album is a mix of eclectic, indie/dream-pop and is influenced by trap and rock with popular hits “Blest” and “True”. If you’re a fan of Steve Lacy and DJO, you should certainly

The Fourth of July: America’s Loudest, Proudest Day of Reckoning

Words by Teresa Spencer Every summer, on the fourth day of July, fireworks slice through the night sky, flags ripple in the humid air, and hot dogs vanish at an alarming rate. Beneath the parades and pyrotechnics, however, lies a radical idea that still crackles with revolutionary energy: that

Chaos Sells

Why your favorite brand wants you thinking about murder, nipples and the apocalypse  Words by Carmen Macri  We’re officially in the era of weird branding, where companies are getting riskier, louder and a hell of a lot funnier. The playbook hasn’t changed much — grab attention, be louder than
July 5th Cleanup
GoUp