Hi, I’m Brian!

If there’s one thing you need to know about me, it’s that I love fairy tales. And not just the folk stories of old, the stories chock-full of magical slippers and giant beanstalks. I’m a sucker for all types of fairy tales, from Crystal Palace’s magical run to the 2016 FA Cup final to the blossoming romance in Damien Chazelle’s La La Land.

Interestingly enough, I tend to love those two tales despite their unfortunate endings. In fact, the first time I watched La La Land, I wasn’t too pleased.

What the heck?

Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling didn’t even end up together? After building it up for over 90 minutes, the movie just decides to break the hearts of everybody in the audience?

Needless to say, freshman-year Brian was pretty pissed off.

Sure, Ryan Gosling might have achieved his dream of opening a jazz club, but does it even matter if he didn’t get the girl? And sure, Emma Stone might have became a world-famous actress, but she had Ryan Gosling on lock! Anyone else is a sidegrade at best!

Okay, maybe freshman-year me was the only person whose heart broke in that theater. After all, not all love stories have happy endings.

True, but a kid can dream, right?

Therein lies my core identity. I’m a hopeless romantic. 

Let me explain. I’m not a romantic hopeless romantic, perpetually searching for a soulmate. To me, being a hopeless romantic is being someone that walks through every aspect of life with unbridled optimism, with a confidence that everything is better than it seems. Simply put, I view everything with rose-tinted glasses. 

I’ve got three tests and a soccer game tomorrow? Three A’s and a goal it is.

That begs an obvious question: if I don’t care about romance romance, why was I so mad about La La Land?

That’s where the “hopeless” part comes in. I believed that Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling could have everything: their careers, their romance, and their future. 

I’ve always been that way. I’ve never been one for rationality. I legitimately believed that Palace would lift the famous old FA Cup trophy back in 2016, despite being up against Manchester United, perhaps the biggest club in the world.

Guess what? Palace lost in a heartbreaking 2-1 decision. And yet, every year come fall, those rose-tinted glasses come back on.

We’ll definitely win it this year.

I know what you’re thinking: “Isn’t it exhausting to be so optimistic about everything? Most of it isn’t going to come true anyway!” 

Well, somewhat ironically, my identity as a hopeless romantic is what gives me hope. The hope of it all working out, whether cheering Palace on as they played half a world away or rooting for Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling to get together on the big screen, made it all worth it, whatever the ending. So sure, I’m a hopeless romantic. I might just love the thrill of the chase, the fleeting, electric moments of hope, more than the happy endings.  

After all, the world isn’t comprised of Hollywood blockbusters and tournament finals. The current state of the globe poses enough problems to give anyone pause. 

With an impending climate catastrophe on the horizon, economic mobility at record lows, and the rise of isolationist nationalism across the globe, true, genuine hope is hard to come by these days. Rationally speaking, there isn’t too much to get excited about. 

It’s pretty easy to see the situation as nearly hopeless. That’s when the rose-tinted glasses come on.

Okay, the climate crisis is looming. Why can’t we study the potential of solar-radiation-management geoengineering, like aerosols or reflectors?

The American Dream is slipping away. Good thing there’s an election next year.

People seeking asylum across the globe are being met with resistance. We can still count on Germany and Canada to set an example, right?

That’s my thrill of the chase. I understand that these problems require complex solutions, and they might not all have a happy ending, but I’ll be working to solve them, rose-tinted glasses and all.

I don’t just think that humanity can fully solve one of these problems. I believe that we can solve all of them. 

Some might call me naive, living in my own dream world: a la-la-land, perhaps. But cut me some slack. I’ve never been one to dismiss a dream. You can bet that, just like Ryan Gosling, I’ll be working every day to achieve it.

And who knows? Maybe I’ll even get the girl too.