Post Uni Life: Marriage

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When I was little I had this plan in my head. I was going to finish school, go to university and meet the one.

We would graduate, find great jobs and then get married, have kids and live happily ever after.

I'm serious. I had no plan for beyond the age of 21. I thought university would be the place where I would meet my husband(!), yet here I am, almost a year after graduating, single as a pringle.

So why am I writing about marriage?

Only recently have I come to the realisation that it may never happen. No one promises marriage, or children, but it's certainly expected of us. Where does that come from? Who says that's the norm? Why?

My whole life I have been certain about one thing – and that is to get married and make a family, but there's nothing set in stone to make sure that happens and that scares me slightly. But why? Is it so bad, being alone? I can do what I want, when I want, and it's fun (most of the time). But I'm a believer of not being alone in the long run, and as much as I'd like to write about defying society's expectations of getting married, I think that's expected of us for a good reason. We're not meant to be alone.

I was talking to my mum about this the other day. She simply said, "You're 21 not 51!" Implying I had no reason to be fretting about the prospect of never meeting anyone. That's the thing though. I'm not sad about it, I'm just acknowledging and coming to terms with the fact that it might never happen. But then again, it might.

Marriage is a scary thought, and, (I think), many years away. But who knows what will happen in the next year, month, week, day? Anything could happen. That's what makes life worth it - the excitement of not knowing what you'll think, feel, say or do in the future, no matter how much you plan, no matter how stubborn or determined you are in whatever path you have set for yourself. Falling in love is a surprise, and I'm not putting a date on it.