Fast Forward to 30s

i was telling a friend the other day that i would like to skip the late 20s and speed on to the early 30s part. and predictably, he had this "what do i do with you" look on his face. now, why would i want to become old at a rate faster that usual ? as if the usual rate isnt fast enough !

well, there are certain disadvantages associated with being in late 20s. and if you are an indian girl with a masters degree in her late 20s, then my God help you. this is the ripe age to get married. or else there is absolutely no chance ! some people at home already consider me a lost case because i show no inclination of "settling down". my own parents refrain from broaching the topic too forcefully for the fear of irking me. people all around me are getting married at a disgustingly (sorry ;)) fast rate.

Case point: the ones in indian B-schools. there, the culture of marrying their batchmate/junior/senior is alarmingly high. why would that be so ? is it because most of them know that "this is it as far as academia is concerned" ? that the next logical step would be, apart from getting a job, "settling down". so why not try to maarofy chance right now ? there are no dearth of suitable candidates. on the contrary, when i talk to my friends in american B-schools they have a very different picture. here, the average age of students are early 30s. they have had considerable work-experience, have been married with kids, some are single and some actually divorced or going through the process. so people arent really looking actively. just temporary hook-ups, dating etc.

anyway, i am digressing from what i started. that is the pain of being in late 20s and not wanting marriage. now, by the time you hit 30s, your parents would have given-up on you, your much-married-soon-to-have-kids friends would also look at you with pity but thankfully keep their mouth shut, you would have found like-minded friends who are in their 30s or 40s. i already have friends who are in their 30s, single, sometimes dating and having a fabulous life. okay, perhaps fabulous is an exageration. but their life isnt exactly empty because they dont have a husband or a wife to come back home to.

i am not anti-marriage. it is (perhaps) a beautiful institution. i have also seen many broken marriages in my own family. all that doesnt put me off about marriage. but you need to have the right reasons for going into it. especially when you can afford to have the right reasons for not going into it. fear of loneliness, social acceptance, emotional security, biological clock ticking, the eligible people reducing....they just dont seem like good enough reasons.