Western Courier

Issue date: 11/13/09 Section: Opinion

Skylar Partridge/Cartoonist

So you've found the love of your life, the one person you can see yourself spending the rest of your time with. You hit it off early and now want to tie the knot. You've weaved your most romantic fantasies around the fact that the love you share with your partner is ample and will never be in short supply. And you're still in college.

Perhaps the statistics of college students getting married while in school are not overwhelming, but it happens. And given the situation, some cases are understandable. But when it comes down to it, one should realize that marriage is not a piece of cake. It's not always easy.

Young couples have much to contend with in these bleak fiscal times. The workforce is down. The taxes are up. Morality is teetering on the ropes.

Jumping into marriage without a stable income or job is like jumping ship without a life jacket. That's being ill prepared for a grim reality. It's basic science that things will fall before they float. And let's not forget; we're not on the moon, here.

And what's all this talk about love? We all know those three little words. Those words that supposedly mean so much, when they really mean so little.

"I love you," she says.

"I love you," he says.

"But I love you more," she claims.

"No, I love you more," he assures.

We've all heard these types of conversations in passing. We've all wanted to write the word "sap" on both their foreheads or thought it was the cutest thing in the whole wide world.

We use those three little words so loosely; they've become as common as saying "God bless you" when someone sneezes. This is particularly dangerous given basic human nature: we often become bored, uninterested and annoyed with the drop of a dime. Attitudes and opinions change. It is natural to want to move on from one endeavor to the next.

It seems love loses its luster when students lose their sense of self.

College is supposed to be a vehicle of self-discovery. It's a unique time in one's life when they find out what truly interests them, what they're good at, what paths they might want to take. It's a time to become aware of who they really are.

One could argue that the path to marriage is often culturally defined - how you were raised, what you were exposed to, those societal expectations percolating beneath the surface.

Furthermore, perhaps some could see a few of the benefits of sharing a joint bank account or splitting the cost of bills.

But when it comes down to it, all you have is yourself. Perhaps we should see what we're made of before settling down and giving ourselves over to that unrealistic idea called the American Dream.

Page 1 of 1

Article Tools