Many girls dream of their wedding day. Marrying the love of their life, walking down the aisle with their father, wearing a beautiful dress, and imagining what their venue and decor would look like. Throughout the years, I have met and befriended many Desi people, which are people of Pakistani, Indian, or Bangladeshi descent. From them, I have heard the stories of these extravagant weddings and have had the pleasure of viewing photos. An alluring stunning wedding has captivated me. The bride is covered in lavish jewels and a detailed henna is wrapped around her arms and hands. I have been informed that the wedding lasts for more than one day, therefore creating an enjoyable and cultural experience. I am Filipino and an aspiring wedding photographer, so I assumed I would not have a wedding like that and chose to admire the beauty of Desi weddings by checking out portfolios of successful wedding photographers.

However, a year ago, I met a young man who moved to America from Pakistan. We started dating and overtime got to know each other very well. We became best friends, and a mutual understanding and feeling developed that we wanted this bond to last forever. One day, my boyfriend was describing his experiences of attending Pakistani weddings of family members with fondness. Naturally, we began naively imagining what our wedding would look like and how we could blend our two vastly different cultures together. I pictured our wedding day, seeing him stand across the long aisle of a church wearing a silky, translucent white Filipino Barong, the traditional wedding attire for Filipino grooms, with a gleaming smile on his face. My whole body surged with joy and was covered in a deep red, glittering Pakistani dress as I walked towards him.

I looked to the audience and envisioned our family members all present and getting along, crying and feeling happy for us. Suddenly, reality slapped us in the face to remind us it is not a simple and religiously accepted ideal to marry someone of opposing belief. His parents are not even aware we are dating yet, because they would not approve of their son being with a Christian-Catholic woman. Also, neither of us are willing to convert, because it would feel like changing our name and identity; something we have associated ourselves with since birth. With a dejected look on his face, he unpleasantly admitted he could never marry a non-Muslim woman, but still wants to be with me. Tears started trickling down my cheeks, confused of what that means for our relationship and future. Consequently, the harsh question arose of "Why are we even dating then?"

I believe dating someone without the intention to have a future with them would be a waste of time and effort. Additionally, even though there are many important aspects to marriage, religion is one of the most significant ones. It would cause conflict in the relationship if a child is born with parents of differing religions to decide which religion the child would be raised with. Of course, we agreed we are still too young and not ready for marriage anytime soon. Nonetheless, as years pass by, the question is asked, and the problematic situation arises, what will we do?

Despite that, all I know that is certain, is I want to be committed to him during every second I am currently breathing. God planned for us to meet and fall in love for a reason, and He also knows the rest of our story.