I was the most desired person to be, ranking #1 on “Who do you wish to be?” lists that were often pushed out monthly through newspapers.

People wished to be me for my boyfriend: Brendan Bolek. The famous actor whose flexible career landed him in singing programs, TV appearances for sitcoms, signature movies, and even fanfiction novels dedicated to him (and the author’s self-inserts that antagonized me) being commercialized. The #1 boyfriend material to any young adult with an electronic device to see him.

I was his girlfriend; the infamous girl known for being carried to fame thanks to her boyfriend. With the amount of praise he receives, you’d think he’d be invincible to petty comments. What a joke. He’s a filthy coward that can’t accept that he can be flawed. That everyone will have different opinions on matters– that’s just how humans are. With a minor hate comment on your public relationship, everything’s down the drain.

When he walked away, I knew I would forever be trapped in his shadow. I’ll be known as “the Nation’s Best Actor’s Ex-Girlfriend.” Nothing more. The press would be all around my apartment and workplace asking about my relationship with him– about how I screwed up.

My career as a firefighter wouldn’t mean anything to the citizens. My blood, sweat, and tears poured into saving their lives would be just as insignificant as a minor hate comment you’d post on a whim over a petty bout of jealousy.

I would mean nothing but a dramatic news article to them.

Brendan Bolek isn’t the most loveable sweetheart that the nation claims him to be. He’s just a boy incapable of loving his non-celebrity girlfriend because he’s insecure about the public eye. His egotistical self is just too important to be seen with someone as insignificant as myself. And I would be trapped in his suffocating shadow of fame as long as cameras captured his false smiles and sweet nothings.