'Dear John' Success Has Us Listing The 10 Ways Author Nicholas Sparks Has Changed The World

By Jessie De Luca

Nicholas Sparks is a man after my own heart. I love that he speaks directly to all of us hopeless romantics out there. He fills books with dreamy fairy tales that a majority of women swoon over, enabling us to openly and endlessly bask our Kleenex for the first time since the iconic romantic dramas of the 1940s like “Casablanca" (sure "Titantic"made us weep buckets, too, but we'll put that under the romantic action drama category for now). Six of his novels have also made it onto the big screen, a commemorative feat in and of itself (those movies include: "The Notebook," "Message in a Bottle," "A Walk to Remember, "Nights in Rodanthe," "Dear John" and “The Last Song”), and a seventh, "The Lucky One," is currently listed on his website as in development.

So, in order to pay full tribute to one of my heroes as "Dear John" has finally made its way into theaters — in its opening weekend, after all, the Channing Tatum and Amanda Seyfried flick already wrote off reigning champ "Avatar" at the box office — I've decided to assess how this man has changed our world.

Check out my full list after the jump!

1. He keeps Kleenex in business — admit it, you now think it's socially acceptable to shed a tear in the presence of other moviegoers at the theater, too!

2. He gives women hope that men are ultimately just as romantic as they are.

3. He's gotten guys to see romantic films (boys, we know you're only pretending when you squirm over having to watch “The Notebook” with us over and over again!)

4. He made the world fall in love with Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams, catapulting them into the public awareness. They have both become serious forces to be reckoned with in Hollywood ever since.

5. He built his own school, The Epiphany School in New Bern, NC, with reportedly about $10 million of his own money.

6. He has helped the romantic film genre to break away as a separate entity from the romantic-comedy genre.

7. With "A Walk To Remember," he catapulted Mandy Moore's acting career (though since, we can't say it has really skyrocketed).

8. He has given young Miley Cyrus a chance to try her, uh, dramatic acting breeches on in the upcoming “Last Song.” We can also then go as far as saying: he helped land Miley a new boyfriend.

9. There is a "Notebook" musical being made. Enough said.

10. He has taught young females a very important lesson: you don’t have to be slutty to fall in love, classy attire and soft red lipstick still seals the deal!

This is all evidence that with a little bit of heart you can do a whole lot of good!

What is on your Nicholas Sparks thankful list?

Tags A Walk To Remember, Books, Dear John, Mandy Moore, Message In A Bottle, Miley Cyrus, Nicholas Sparks, Nights In Rodanthe, Rachel McAdams, Ryan Gosling, The Last Song, The Lucky One, The Notebook