GROUND 0101 (The Fall Issue)

regarded as unlovable spinsters
should they choose to
live alone. It is not unusual
that relationships come second
to pursuing education
and a successful career. Being
financially independent
and living alone in a place
you own yourself is seen as
an aspirational goal. People
are encouraged to divorce
rather than stay in unhappy
situations.
In particular, attitudes towards
the institution of
marriage have changed immensely.
In an increasingly
liberal minded society, settling
down at a young age
rather than "making the
most" of your single years,
carries a stigma amongst
usually tolerant people. A
friend aged in his mid twenties
secretly got married
at the city hall following a
whirlwind romance. My first
thought was that his new
wife was probably pregnant.
Others assumed she needed
a visa. In the end they
announced they had simply
gotten married for no other
reason than that they were
in love and had chosen not
to invite anybody. Probably
due to the those assumptions.
My summer romance didn’t
survive through to Fall. Was
it doomed from the start
as I am a child of divorce?
Were we never really connected
because it was easier
to learn about each other
from Facebook than from
speaking to each other? Or
perhaps as an independent
adult I didn’t want myself
to be defined or judged by
being in a relationship. Ultimately,
rather than a self
fulfilling prophecy relationships
are just two, flawed,
human beings trying to
make it work. Sometimes
it doesn't, or like my friend
who married in secret (who
is two years later still happily
married), if you drown out
all the noise, it might just
one day work.