Marriage, Social Media, and Possibly a Big Mistake

Marriage. The pentacle of commitment. Surrounding the term marriage are many pressures that annoy me. Some of these pressures come from social media; platforms such as Facebook and Twitter. It is the idea that one must get married as soon as possible, as well as have children. Some people will tell you that life does not truly start until you have a family of your own. I tend to disagree with this statement. Being in a dating relationship for over 3.5 years in college and having it end opened my eyes a great deal. During it, I was blinded by this idea that we had to get married as soon as college was over. We needed a family to seal the deal. The sooner, the better. That relationship caused me to miss out on the development of friendships that I feel like I need today. I passed on a lot of opportunities to go on trips, or hangout with friends, or change the direction of my life. This dating relationship worked just like a marriage to be honest. We did this so the transition of marriage would be a relatively simple one. We spent a great deal of time together, and we both sacrificed going places with other people, to spend it with each other. We followed all the Christian devotionals, did everything church goers with successful marriages recommended. We prayed together. However we both wanted something more, to live life.

I get irritated when people ask me if I have found that special person yet. It is the most stupid question I seem to be bombarded with. I am 24! Is it so wrong to want to be able to live my life before I settle down? What is wrong with being able to date around; experience new people, have fun without commitment? What is wrong with spending time with friends, without having to worry about anyone else to be accountable to? Going on road trips, doing things just because, things you would not be able to do while married. Why do you want to waste some of the best years of your life because other people are doing it? Seems like it would be smarter to enjoy life while you have the opportunity and wait for that special someone. Why should I give up my opportunity to live life in the way I want to, and settle down with someone, if the one I truly like does not like me in that way. I am not rushing into anything, else I miss the real opportunity.

Allow me the opportunity to rant a little bit about social media. I get tired of seeing all these relationships, engagements, marriages, and baby pictures. So many people I know rushed into the whole marriage institution. Listen, I am happy for them; if that is what they wanted. However, it is my hope that this works out for them, but if you look at the divorce rates, the numbers are not good for our generation. I feel like this can be attributed to the fact of people rushing into marriage. Facebook is a bad influence on this. Think about it; how many times have you sat at your computer, or on your phone browsing and BOOM! There it is, all those pictures there in your face. Making you feel like you need what they have. You need a relationship, you need to be engaged, you need to be married, and you need a kid/family. That's the type of pressure I am talking about. It causes you to rush into things, and ultimately can make you make one of the biggest mistakes in your life. But then again, there is the chance it works out, but how likely is that? Who knows if you are really ready for a major commitment. Social media raises the stakes. You friends and family raise the stakes. Do not be misguided, or forced into feeling as if you need to follow suit. Enjoy your life while you can, before you make the commitment to share it with someone else. That is how I feel about it currently.

Don't take my words at my word. Experience life; live it yourself. Go for it. I have always questioned what people said to me, and you have the option to do the same. I write from experiences, and from what I think is right. But I am only human. We all are. If I made you mad or insulted you, I am not sorry. You had the opportunity to close the link any time you wanted. Don't waste your time arguing with me, you will not change my opinion. Maybe you find this helpful, and if that is the case, I am glad.