My first trip to Paris was something magical. It's hard to explain to people who have never had an experience like mine, but it was as if my life suddenly made sense. Call me crazy, but it is the truth. In one week I had decided that I NEEDED to live in Paris and less than 1.5 years later I was living and working there. So many things about my life in Paris helped me to better understand myself, love myself, and accept myself. Coming back to Texas, I've had to deal with a lot of the things I struggled with as a child and a teenager.
In Paris, maybe even France, it is not the cultural norm to be married young. In fact, as a nanny for a family of "elementary" aged children, it was the oddest thing the first couple of months I was there to walk the kids to school and notice the age of the other parents. In fact, the family I worked for, who at the time their kids were 4 and 6, were probably over 40. Here in the south that is the completely opposite. As with everywhere in the world, not everyone fits a mold. I did know some young people who were married, but the point I'm getting at is that there is no expectation there to be hitched by the age of 25. You are not considered an old maid if you are still not married in your late 20's or early 30's. It was so freeing to be in a place where I didn't feel pressure to constantly be on the prowl or that everywhere I went I needed to act as if "Mr. Right" might come waltzing into my life and I should be ready. Sure, we girls went on dates, swooned over boys and all that jazz, but there was such a lack of pressure in that world. Like I said, it was so freeing. Fast forward to my life changing and now I am living in Texas, not technically the south but really, its the south. As weird as it sounds to say this, I really had to rediscover a lot about myself that was suddenly questioned or somehow misplaced during my move. I mean, it was a long move and many things were misplaced, but I never thought my confidence in certain areas would be one of those. I remember at Christmas a family member said to me, "Kara, I haven't given up hope on you yet" in reference to me being happily single at 25. The girls I have met around this part of town are sharing in the same sentiment. That if they are my age and single then they need to give up on life and start hoarding cats. And I have to completely disagree and completely not relate one bit.
I've never been a girl to feel the need to be in a relationship. I am a strong, independent and free person and there is no one in this world that is going to convince me that being married is the answer to lifes problems. In college, nearly all my best girlfriends were married, in serious relationships or got married so I am no stranger to marriage. (my theory on married friends: you get 2 for the price of 1. its great. I chose the girl but I got the guy as well, no better way to finding friends I'd say)
So the point of this blog is to say that I am happily single and I am confident in that statement.
But.... the reason I wrote all of this is because a good friend of mine recently posted a link online to an article that I wanted to share. It's not often that I find someone who has put into words things I can not express myself, but here goes:
Read this article and it accurately sums up the type of person that I am and that I would be happy to share in life with. I am sure that most people will not understand this type of person and would not share in my ideal type of person, but thats ok, because I am no the typical southern gal. I am a revised version.
So. There you have it.
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