Sam Carter
Opinion Writer
This past week I received a letter from a female reader who wished my opinion on a subject. As this will always be an open forum, and I am always ready to try and help a peer, I decided to publish and answer her question.
Dear Sam,
Many of my friends are getting engaged, married or having children, and it’s starting to creep me out. We’re all young cats right? What’s with all the hustle?
- J
Well J, I have much experience with this, so you came to the right place. You’re absolutely correct. Love is in the air, and everyone is beginning to settle down and start families much sooner these days.
I think the hustle to settle down stems from people simply wanting to be in love and have someone to confide in. I have been told that there is no greater feeling than when you completely fall into someone and make a lifelong commitment. We all have a need to be loved and cared for; the difference is how we go about it.
You see, there are many different forms of love. Many people have friends that they confide in and “love.” Others share themselves only with family.
Finally, there are types who yearn for a relationship with a significant other. None of these are wrong; some people just choose to pursue the latter of the three types.
I would like to point out some statistics to those that J has pointed out:
- The divorce rate of a first marriage in America is 41-50% according to many divorce rate studies.
- The second marriage divorce rate is 60- 67%.
- The third marriage divorce rate is 73-74%.
So if the first one fails it seems to do nothing but get more difficult. While you love birds out there may not like this, these are the facts. Marriages just don’t last like they used to. I hate to be cynical, but this could be due to the age at which we decide to make that commitment. Everyone is ready in their own time, so J, don’t worry about this. We are still young, so don’t feel pressured to make a commitment of a lifetime just because others are doing it.
To all you engaged and married couples reading this, I wish you the best as I hope to find that special someone someday. This is just one man’s opinion. If you have your own, then share it! Write into me at theprairiemail@yahoo.com. To any readers with any other good questions they would like to see written about, send those ideas in NOW.
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