Jake or Samantha

There’s a scene in the coming-of-age hit show Heartstopper where the main character Nick is questioning his sexuality. He’s in high school and realizing that he is probably bisexual. One evening he is watching Pirates of the Caribbean with his mother, and she teases him about his obsession with Kira Knightley. However, as Nick is watching the camera pan back and forth between close ups of Kira Knightley and Orlando Bloom, he realizes he had feelings for them both. Same, Nick. Same.

My a-ha moment was while watching the John Hughes classic Sixteen Candles. I can vividly remember so many conversations with friends about how Michael Schoeffling’s character, Jake Ryan, was such a dating goal for many girls. He was handsome, sweet, wealthy, and romantic, plus he drove a red sports car. You can look at him and imagine that he probably smells like Polo for Men.Yes, please! At the same time, I was also all about Molly Ringwald. In 7th grade I got my hair cut and permed, then added a heavy dose Sun-in (still available, can you believe it?) to give me the reddish highlights to get closer to the Molly look. I also dreamt of her wardrobe. 

It took me a decade to realize it, but my love for Molly Ringwald was the reason why I watched any John Hughes film. I thought she was so beautiful and her characters were so relatable. Additionally, I thought all of Molly’s on-screen love interests were the luckiest guys to get to kiss her. Pretty in Pink? Ugh. I would have never treated her the way Blane did, and I would have loved to snuggle with her pup, too.  I have no idea what took me so long to realize that I didn’t just want to be like her, but really I wanted to be with her!