Approaching a New Phase of Life: Marriage Talks from a 24-Year-Old Girl
Life is taking a different route. Newer chapters are being turned. My girlfriends and I no longer talk about our boyfriends or gossip about a mutual pal. We have bigger, much mature, more important things to talk about: marriages.
The one common topic when I hang out with my girls is engagements, weddings, honeymoons, and babies. I am 24, my friends are about the same age. And I'm not here to talk if 24 is too early to marry or have kids but to simply state the facts. Until a few months ago, we only spoke about our dreams and our jobs and our careers and our goals. But now, it's all about marriages. Every time I meet a group of friends, someone we know is either getting married/engaged or is already married/engaged. And, though it seems lovely, at the back of our minds, we all sigh secretly; and that, my dear readers, is a sigh full of worry.
How is our wedding going to be like? When are we getting married? Will our current partners be our life partners or would we split apart in the end? Can exes get back together? For a few friends, we hope they do, and for a few, it's a straightaway no.
The committed are waiting for the financial and mental stability and waiting for their boyfriends to take a step ahead, and the single girls are afraid: all of them just hoping they find a boy belonging to the same community. They're scared of arranged marriages because, for all we know, people can pretend they're sweet and post-wedding, be completely different persons.
I am worried about my single girls. I always pray to God that they get a wonderful boy. I pray that they get their dream husbands. Few of my girlfriends have lived very restricted lives; I hope they get a partner who doesn't know what boundaries are.
It's a terrifying phase of life. We girls are not pressurised but our parents have started talking about our marriages. They talk about settling sooner, finding the right guy, and many of them have started searching for Mr Ideal-Son-In-Law (of course, from the same community and same economic groups).
At my place? It's much calmer. I have told my parents to start worrying about my marriage after I turn 26. Until then, I have requested them to enjoy and let be. I'm still struggling to establish my business. I'll require at least two years to achieve my first financial goal with blogging and travelling as my only source of income.
It's quite startling, you know? Two of my best friends are married, one good friend is getting engaged this December, another best friend is battling to let her finish MBA peacefully without simultaneously pressuring to meet prospective grooms, and I am just trying hard to sink all this in.
Anyway, this is part of life. Here's to a terrifying yet sweet phase. May we all get the partners we have always dreamt of...
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