As a little girl, I had this dream of what it would be like to be married. I would align my Barbie dolls as my bridesmaids while I pretended to walk down the aisle, tossed my own flower petals made of ripped paper on the ground towards my imaginary groom.

Fast forward 15 years and here I am still single and still unmarried. I pictured myself being married at least by 23, my first child at 28, and my 10th anniversary at 33. Things do not always go as planned.

Looking for someone who wants to settle down young has become a thing of the past. At this point in time marriage and love seemed like an urban myth. With this mindset, I could never picture myself being married.

This past weekend I had the pleasure of going to my friend’s wedding from high school. When she told me she was getting married it was something that I could not believe. Not because it was her getting married but because it hit me how there was still that aspect of my life missing. It’s been awhile since I saw her and others’ I went to school with.

As I sat there listening to what everyone had to say about their lives I could truly say that I have yet to find or experience that kind of love. During the bachelorette party, my friend asked the question. “So how’d you guys meet?” They met online and to some people that can be off-putting, but they took a chance.

But what stood out to me was the amount of understanding they had for each other when they first met; they already knew what they were looking for in a partner. For the first time in a long time, I felt my heart flutter and saw a glimpse of hope.

When leaving the party, there was something I said to her which I could take back. Since the wedding was the next day I could tell that she was kind of nervous. I came to her and hugged her and said, “Don’t worry this day is all about you and we are just mere peasants." I wish I could tell her that I lied because that wedding meant so much more to me.

It was almost negative three degrees that day, but my heart never felt so warm. I walked into the chapel and saw the grade school pictures of her and her now husband and the twinkling of the lights on the stage that was like fireflies.

When I saw her walk in it was like looking at an Angel. The smile on her groom’s face read accomplishment. When I saw his face, I felt myself get choked up. I could see there was no doubt in his mind the decision that was being made. Disney movies have a repetitive storyline where all happy endings end in marriage.

As I sat in my seat, I thought to myself “Ahh this isn’t a fairytale ending, rather a fairytale beginning." Life doesn’t end in marriage it is the beginning that you will have to continue to prepare for. Yes, I’m 20 and still not married but I have regained the hope of being married in the future. The age of marriage and finding love doesn’t have an expiration date. At the reception seeing the older couples dance filled my heart with such real-life fairytale thoughts.

Thank you, Nikki for giving me the experience to reconnect with people that I haven’t seen in a long time. Thank you, Nikki for showing me the patience that comes with finding the one. Thank you, Nikki, for taking that next life into marriage.