Why Ring by Spring Shouldn’t Be a Thing

Obviously my opinion on marriage at such a young age, or ‘Ring by Spring’ we like to call it does not match all of my peers, most certainly not everyone that will read this article and that’s okay. Please take note that it is furthest from my intentions to offend or upset anyone on their viewpoints of my generations rush towards engagement so early into adulthood.

Attending a small private university obviously has its advantages and disadvantages to say the least, from knowing the vast majority of your classmates to partaking in silly school traditions, there isn’t much I’d change about my private education and the school I chose to attend. One thing I have definitely realized and witnessed is a known tradition we like to call ‘Ring by Spring.’ Simply put, female students find it desirable to become engaged by or during the spring season, typically of their upperclassmen years but some younger than that. I would like to point out that I am not saying by any means that if you have found the one that your heart and soul loves that you should not follow in those desires, but what I AM saying is that maybe instead of focusing on finding your husband or wife you should do some soul searching and find yourself first.

Did you know that according to http://www.census.gov/popclock/ there are roughly 7.3 Billion people on this planet? People you haven’t met, people you will never meet, people who will impact your life in such a beautiful way that words simply cannot describe. All I am saying is that at twenty years old my life is barely beginning. I do not know who I am yet, nor do I know how to truly think and understand things how I want to see them on my own yet as myself. I want to become me, I want to experience other cultures, I want to help others, I want to make a difference in someone’s life, I want to go places I’ve never been before, I want to do all of these things and I want to do them as me not as a wife not as a dependent, but as me.

It seems that in our world today we tend to get so lost or caught up in what society or the social realm around us tells us is okay that we forget to think for ourselves and make the decisions best for us as an individual. Obviously, everyone is ready to experience and live life differently, but at a mere two decades old I'm not ready to depend on a spouse for things when I still go to my mom to make my dentist appointments. I wholeheartedly believe everyone should experience life on their own before they go from one extreme to the next.

So yes; settling down, finding my soulmate, raising a family, and creating my life intertwined with someone else is my ultimate goal in life, for right now I believe with all of my heart it is necessary for me to find myself in this crazy huge world before I find my ‘Ring by Spring.’