“Wear your heart on your sleeve,” they say. This simple phrase has charmingly followed suit in the collection of clichés we use to refer to love on a daily basis. When it comes to romance and affection, the age-old saying is a cheerful call to action to expose our emotions – leaving us unguarded in our search for love.
If you ask me, this point of view is quite hopeful and idealistic. By wearing our hearts on our “sleeves,” we convey our emotions and thoughts freely and openly to others. And by doing so, we’re meant to welcome the chance to find love.
Here, The City That Never Sleeps, as it’s called, is brimming with hearts that never stop beating and hopeless romantics that never stop dreaming. Trust me, I know; I’m one of them. I wholeheartedly embrace the prospect of romance and I admire the promise of the “sleeve” saying – to be vulnerable in hopes of finding another sleeve to lock arms with.
But living in New York City has also shown me the necessity to be shrewd and wise – in love and in life. As dreamy and magical as New York City is, as easy as it might be to spark romance with another person here, the “concrete jungle” is still concrete after all – beautiful to look at, but hard when you fall. And that’s why New York City is the perfect place to think about when talking about the striking delicacy of love.
So, while I’m all for being vulnerable and candid in pursuit of affection, perhaps it’s more fitting to wear our hearts on our feet than on our sleeves. Symbolically speaking, when we wear our hearts on our feet, they’re still exposed for others to see, leaving us open to finding romance. But, at the same time, this strategic placement gives us more agency and control as we play in the risky game of love.
Now, in this way, rather than leaving our hearts on our sleeves, dangling helplessly and susceptible to being torn, we’re able to run with our hearts – to tread away from someone who might break your heart, or leap towards someone who would foster it.
Of course, this discussion is figurative and more lighthearted than it is serious. (After all, my Comme De Garcons high-top Converse sneakers with red hearts on them are what inspired me to write this piece.) But whether we’re talking about shoes or romance, the same sentiment remains: Wear your heart on your feet – beautifully free for others to see and open to finding love, but in a position where you’re also able to run, be quick on your feet (quite literally), stay smart, and stride towards what serves you well in this crazy world of romance.
…Because being in love is a beautiful thing. But just because we’re hopeless romantics doesn’t mean we can’t be smart romantics too.
