I'm a Nigerian female in my mid-twenties so it's perfectly understandable that if I'm not attending a wedding (traditional or otherwise) on a weekend this summer? I'm dulling. This is prime time, it seems. I love weddings & love in general (blame Disney), although I hadn't always, but I'm somewhat flabbergasted by this generation's obsession with it. The idea of working on oneself until you meet your better half who compliments, not completes you, is widely sold to my generation now. Whether it's the "dating with purpose" (post coming soon) lot, or the "Prince Charming" list dreamers, the idea that you work until your wedding day & the rest of your life is spent living in wedded bliss is just...WRONG!
Marriage - The union of two otherwise strangers to be joined in holy matrimony presumably for eternity. Two becoming one family, and growing one of their own. Such a beautiful thought, yet my mind curdles (yes, literally turns to mush) at what this generation has turned marriage into. Thanks to social media, all we care about is the size of the rock, venue of the proposal, flower arrangements of the centre pieces, colour scheme for the reception venue...blah blah blah! We're inundated with new bridal/wedding-centred instagram accounts capitalising off a unique moment in a couple's lives.
Your wedding is meant to reflect who you are as a couple, so it makes sense why you'd pour endless hours into meticulously planning out the minutest of details. What baffles me are those who do so having not bagged their spouse-to-be yet. So what does that reflect? You! Your vision,unmarred by the fusion with a partner's, yet you expect to live happily ever after having made no prior concessions?
People are far too me-focused to truly grasp the reality of marriage. Endless channels dedicated to self-love enroute to finding real love has blinded so many to the truth about a loving/successful marriage; sacrifice & selflessness. This is coming from an unmarried individual, so what do I know? But I think the earlier this generation comes to terms with the reality of life after "I do", the sooner we can save ourselves from divorce counsel fees & the rise in broken families and jaded 40-something's.
"The chain of wedlock is so heavy that it takes two to carry it" Heraclitus
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