Single After 25?

So, I read this thread today and my head almost exploded. :: sigh ::

"http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200803/single-marry

...Maybe I find the article easier to swallow because I am young and in a relationship with someone I didn’t have to settle for, but I often worry that my single friends are being too picky about superficial things and are going to end up single at 40 and have slim pickings. Even 24 doesn’t seem too early to be thinking about these things.

What do you guys think? I mean, I’m sure there are a number of women out there who have stories about meeting the loves of their lives after 35 or who are really and truly happy with being single as everyone around them pairs up, but does that seem to be the exception or the rule?"

My response was as follows:

"WHOA! This irks me. It’s as if to say that if you’re 40 and never married that you’re a loser? No. Au contraire.

Don’t pity me or anyone else like me who is older than you and has never been married. Marriage is NOT the measure of a person.

I enjoy being single with the knowledge and security to know that when I walk into my own house that I purchased with my own hard earned money that a man won’t be there to hit me in my eye, belittle or berate me because I got married to some man just to say I’m married. It’s so easy to think you know someone and then, when you get married, they change or become the person they really are. :: patoeey :: Tonight and every night, I can lay my head on my pillow ALONE secure in the knowledge that I’ve done good things in my life and that I deserve to be with a man that is deserving of someone like me. A good man. No, I’m not picky…not overly picky that is. I’ve been there done that on both sides of the scales from being too picky to not picky enough. Personally, I had no clue who I was or even what I wanted in my 20s and most of my 30s and it has only been until recently that I’ve gained enough knowledge and experience to be able to truly see who I am and what I want in my life. I know what I’m looking for and what kind of man it takes to be with me. Only thing is they are a rare find, indeed.

In my opinion, there are far too many people who are married and miserable. Yes, I’m talking about the high school sweethearts and those who thought they found the “ONE”. The ones who had the fairy tale wedding, the 2.5 kids, the house, the cars, but at the end of the day the love they once had just isn’t there anymore and they are stuck. Let’s face it people change and sometimes the fairy tale turns into a nightmare.

There’s no guarantee that you’ll find “love” before age 25 or 35 or 45 or 55. We live in a different era now. We don’t marry the guy next door anymore. Hell if we even know who the guy next door is anyway.

It’s not like the old days when your parents would arrange who you’d marry. Even back then, there were no guarantees. You marry the boy next door and you think you’re going to live this perfect life and you find out that boy next door is in the closet or an alcoholic or abusive or whatever. That’s reality. There’s only a small percentage of marriages/relationships that are those “one of a kind” loves where they can finish each others sentences and they get all giddy when they think about each other after 50 years that they’ve been together.

Life and love. It’s all just one big crap shoot. If you’re lucky, you’ll role 7 or 11 and go home a big winner, but most of the time you roll craps, set your chips on the table and roll the dice again and again."

I mean really who cares anymore. I think its safe to say that dating, relationships and marriage are pretty well f*cked up these days, right? :: gah :: I just thank God that I can lay my head down at night and feel safe and secure. Don't have to worry about where he is at 3 AM or if he's going to try to kill me or anything like that because really...that's the norm not happily ever after. Not anymore.