Happy Here

It is so refreshing to live in a place that is not obsessed with marriage.

Don't get me wrong, that's my eventual goal, and I take it very seriously.

But I didn't realize how all consuming the dating/engagement/marriage/babies pressure was while I was at BYU.

I love being with people who are comfortable with themselves and what they can offer the world in relationships that go beyond a marriage.

I love being able to be okay with myself. With who I am and what I'm doing and where I'm going. I love being just jaraka. just me. that's all.

Now, I don't want to be just jaraka forever. But, this time as just me, with no pressure to add to that, is so refreshing and revitalizing.

At BYU, a very large percentage of people (my own age) I interacted with everyday were married, engaged, seriously dating, or desperate for one of the previously mentioned status'. Here, I know like two people my age who are engaged, maybe two more who are in serious relationships, and lots and lots of pleasant, happy, productive single people. like me. hallelujah.

*I have nothing against married people, I'm just not one of them.*

When I was deciding whether to move to OK as a single young professional, or stay in Utah as an engaged young professional, I explicitly said that there was NO WAY I was going to stay in Provo if there was a chance of me being single again. Ugh. That, though it works well for some, is not a comfortable or thriving environment for me. Provo is fine when you're in a relationship, but .... no way jose. :)