The Tranquil Vintessa

Photo From Variety Magazine

Welcome to a new segment on the blog called Vintessa Unfiltered—a space where I share whatever’s on my mind at the moment. Today, my Aunt Flo decided to visit, and it threw me into a bit of a tailspin. I usually try to keep my mood under control, but sometimes, a little self-care is in order. So, I grabbed some snacks—white cheddar popcorn, kombucha, and watermelon—slipped into comfy clothes, and put on a feel-good movie.

This time, it was How To Be Single, a romcom from 2016. Remember that year? It was the last time everyone seemed relatively happy. We were playing Pokémon Go, enjoying silly romcoms, and the world didn’t seem so heavy. The movie follows Alice (played by Dakota Johnson), who needs a break from her long-term boyfriend and moves to New York to “find herself.” Along the way, she meets Robin (played by Rebel Wilson), a fun-loving party girl who shows Alice the ropes of single life. There are a few other subplots—Alice’s sister, the career-driven Meg, finds love and has a baby, and a playboy bartender learns it’s okay to let someone in.

The movie is full of plot holes and unrealistic moments, like Alice somehow knowing enough people in New York to have a rooftop birthday party after being there less than a year, or Alice and Robin showing up to work three hours late with no consequences. And don’t even get me started on Robin’s antics at the lawyer’s office. But despite all that, I enjoyed it. The sappy happy ending, the corny jokes, and the exaggeration in every scene took me back to a simpler time when we just enjoyed things without overthinking them. It made me feel hopeful and secure, a welcome change from the constant stream of gloom and doom we’re bombarded with today.

Sometimes, I wonder if the world feels less hopeful now because we’re surrounded by so much negativity. Everywhere you look, there’s another ad telling you what’s wrong with your life, or another influencer telling you what you need to buy. It’s easy to feel like your life isn’t enough—that you should be traveling constantly, making tons of money, and somehow also saving the world from imminent disaster all in time for dinner and a work out.

But what if we filled our lives with genuine joy instead? Not just the kind you get from taking time off, but the joy found in simple things like decorating a shabby chic apartment, making new friends, or enjoying a sunrise. Maybe then we’d realize that we’re going to be okay. The world has always had its problems, and it probably always will. But just like the Evans family in Good Times, we can still find happiness despite the hardships.

So if you have some time, sit down and watch a corny show that makes no sense and is incredibly unrealistic. Let’s be a little ‘delulu’ for a while, and let ourselves believe that Holly Golightly can afford that $2k rent-controlled Manhattan apartment, while falling in love. Let’s laugh at the absurdity of it all at get lost in the plot and just enjoy ourselves. After all, that’s what entertainment is for—letting us escape, even if just for a moment, into a world where everything works out in the end.

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