Settling

My friend Alex said “If I could change one thing about dating it's the stereotype marriage age. A lot of pressure is put on both men and women to marry the first person willing because it's a box on the checklist of life that they want to just mark it off so they can move on with life. Make sure you CAN spend eternity with him before you tie the knot.”

Why do we feel this pressure to get married young? Ok, I can think of some reasons. Especially if you're seriously dating, the bishop gets a little nervous and wants to push you toward marriage so you don't slip up anywhere (haha, that's an awkward topic. let's move on). When we get into our late 20's without getting married, our older relatives give us  a weird look and start asking questions...

Does that pressure make you feel like you need to settle? I think this is a common thought for LDS single people but it rarely actually happens. I believe (and hope) that LDS people won't go too much farther than they want to in relationships. I know some people have "settled" and married someone they didn't really want to marry, which is such a sad thing to hear. But I think that is a very small percentage. 

When it comes to the real deal, you're going to want to put a ring on it. And when it comes to putting a ring on it, you're going to make sure it's the real deal.

So why do we have this obsession with settling? Do we view others who marry young as settling? That they figured they couldn't do better? Or that the other person was good enough? Do we think that one partner is better than the other? Do we really believe that we could be capable of settling for something as important and eternal as marriage? 

Please don't. That situation really stinks. And I believe we know that, you know that. You're not going to settle. When the time is right and the person is right, you'll know. Marriage is amazing when you're with the right person, don't compromise for anything else.