Located on the Hollywood Boulevard, closed to the Walk of Fame Star, a newly opened museum caught my attention. It is called the Museum of Broken Relationships, a place that displays all the heartbroken stories. When I first heard its name, I was curious. What is this exactly about? How can relationships be collected and displayed as an exhibition? I decided to pay a visit.
Looking from the outside, it is more like a luxury store on the Rodeo Drive. But when I went inside, that was totally another different story. At first glance, the exhibition was all about common pieces, like clothes, camera, ukulele, watch…Each tiny piece of the item is attached with a white card, representing the story behind. I walked through one by one, reading each story. Some made me laugh, some made me sad. Some sounded so familiar, and some were weird.
It then hit me and kept me wondering why I no longer wrote notes and love letters to my lover. Why I no longer kept the movie tickets and wrote love journals. All those cute rituals that I once valued, they were gone. Is it because I am maturer and cooler? Or is it only because I don’t want others to feel I am so silly? Does it still matter to me? My mind was full of questions and I was touched by those words, sentences, and stories.
From the first time of my life, I felt that my broken relationships in the past was not a big deal at all. Compared to other people in this world, who also tried very hard to be in love, there were so many of them that ended up in tragedies. I felt really sorry for those people. But at the same time, I felt grateful for all the people in my life, including those that had harmed me. No matter what, I have already let it go. I also felt grateful for not having experienced trauma and death. (The deprivation of love because of AIDS/cancer/car accident is so terrible…I can’t even imagine…)
Looking at those pieces of story reminded me of how vulnerable love is. Now that I am older, I also realize how valuable it is. Love is not something you want, than you can just get it. Well, perhaps for some luckiest, it could be. But for most people, we have to pay the price and spend great efforts. You pay the price by learning from the failed relationships. You spend money, time and energy to love someone or even protect them, but love is still not guaranteed. I still believe in true love. I still see it as something pure and white. Yet, I also know how complicated it can be.
I hate to say this, but without right timing, many relationships are doomed to be failed. That’s why when we find someone we really love, we have to cherish. Don’t be silly. Don’t even try to test it! Because once you do so, love will no longer be intact. Nobody is perfect. And in some senses, no one has the obligation to treat you well. So if you are lucky enough to have someone loved you with heart and soul, be grateful.
I know I am one of those luckiest people who have a wonderful family and am always surrounded by love. That’s why I don’t have to struggle for love or beg for it. The feeling of being loved gives me a romantic mind and enriched soul. And that’s why I am a true love believer. After one and the other failed relationships, I am still optimistic.
I want to use a quote from Carrie Bradshaw to end this article “Love is something we wait for. We imagine our first kiss or first sex, or first ‘I love you’, but we never imagine our first heart break…maybe because it’s too painful to even imagine, but in a way the pain of love is what truly changes us.”
I wish everyone in this world can find his/her Mrs./Mr. Right. <3
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Address: 6751 Hollywood Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90028
Price: General Admission $18; Student with ID $15
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