Relationship

Should You Get Married? 14 Ways to Know if it’s for You

Marriage isn’t for everybody. And no, I don’t mean it’s not for the chronic cheater or hopeless floozy that can’t seem to keep it in their pants. I’m saying even for the average person in a committed relationship, marriage isn’t always their aspiration.

Many women-and some men-have marriage on their horizons from a very young age. Some of us have even picked out our bridesmaid’s dress colors, designed our wedding dress, and know exactly where we want to get married.

I, for one, don’t have a “Wedding” board on Pinterest, nor do I have a color scheme or wedding dress already picked out. I know too many of my young friends-that are still single, mind you-that have all of this decided already. Because they are sure they want to get married someday.

Maybe marriage just isn’t for you

If you’re like me, you’ve started realizing many people around you are getting married and you haven’t even given it a second thought. Maybe you’re single and happy about staying that way, but perhaps you’re in a relationship and just don’t see a wedding in your future.

Should you get married?

Now I’m not saying marriage is horrible or anything like that. I’m just saying getting married might not be for you. I’ve been doing a lot of thinking myself, and I honestly just don’t know if getting married is all that big of a deal for me. If you’ve been having some conflicting feelings about getting married, these 14 signs will help you determine if you should or should not get married.

You Shouldn’t

These are all the subtle signs you don’t need or want to get married. They show marriage isn’t for you and that’s perfectly fine.

#1 You’ve never given it much thought. If you’re one of the rarities amongst us, then maybe you’ve never really contemplated getting married before. Maybe the thought of a wedding never really crossed your mind. It’s not like you’ve never wanted a life partner or a family, but the wedding part just never entered your mind. This is a sign marriage might not be for you.

#2 Your friends getting married doesn’t put pressure on you. If you feel zero pressure to get married when everyone else is, it’s definitely a sign you don’t put a lot of thought or care into whether or not you get married.

#3 You are content in your committed relationship. If you don’t feel the need to document your love for someone with a piece of paper and are fully happy in the relationship you’re currently in, marriage might not be for you. Not all life-long relationships have to be bound by a document and you understand and appreciate that.

#4 You can’t see yourself long-term with anyone. Sometimes, people just can’t see themselves with only one person for the rest of their life. And since marriage is basically vowing to do just that, marriage might not be for people like that.

#5 You’re too much of a free spirit. Meaning, you travel and get crazy and don’t have the desire to stop and share your life with anybody because you’re happy with living your life for yourself. If you’re this person, then you just don’t have the time to settle down and give yourself to one person for such a long time.

 

#6 You like the freedom of walking away when your relationship goes bad. Divorce? Oh, hell no. If you would rather be able to pack your bags and leave peacefully without the dreadful paperwork and court dates-like me-then you shouldn’t get married.

#7 You don’t want to split your belongings 50/50 forever. I don’t know about you, but I like my stuff. And I like my stuff to remain my stuff and all mine. Call me selfish, but I don’t want to be legally obligated to give 50% of everything to someone else for the rest of my life-even if I think they’re “the one.”

You Should

Some people just shouldn’t get married, if you agree with the above signs, then you shouldn’t. But if you find yourself falling under the following categories, marriage could be in your horizon.

#1 You want to be bound to your love for the rest of your life. If you 100% never want to spend your life with anyone but the person you’re with *or could be with if you’re single*, then marriage is a way to bind that feeling and make it something real, and it’s for you.

#2 You’ve always dreamed of being a “wife” or “husband.” When someone asked you if you’re going to have a wife or husband when you’re older, and you replied with, “Duh! Of course!” then marriage has always been in your horizons. You should get married if it’s always been on your mind.

#3 You want to fully be a “family” in all sense of the word. Some people don’t need to share last names to be a family. However, if-to you-family means you are a spouse and have children and everyone in the family has the same last name, marriage is for you.

#4 Marriage is basically a tradition for you. Some people feel getting married is traditional and even ceremonial in their family. Some religions require marriage before entering into any physical relationship as well. If this is the case with you, you should get married to the right person.

#5 You’re willing to split everything with someone else for the rest of your life. The fact that you’ll be sharing everything *and I mean everything* with someone else forever doesn’t bother you at all. In fact, you want to share your life and belongings with someone else for the rest of your life.

#6 You understand if things don’t work out, divorce happens. Although you are entering a marriage 100% certain they’re the one for you, sometimes complications happen down the road and things can go wrong. You should only get married if you understand divorce is a possibility and you’re okay dealing with that aspect of marriage if it should happen.

#7 You’ve always pictured your wedding since you were younger. This is mainly for all those girls out there who have been planning their wedding since they were little, but it’s true for everyone. Even when I ask little boys if they’re going to get married someday, they usually respond with, “Well, duh!” This means they’re even picturing their life being married.

If you’ve always pictured your wedding and all the decorations, it’s no longer just another aspect of life, but a dream of yours. And you should always follow your dreams. Just marry the right person and don’t let your dreams blind you. If this is you, then you should get married.

 

 

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