Marriage is overhyped.
Marriage was borne from the need of man to secure a safe environment to breed, protect bloodlines and handle property rights. Every other thing attached to it today including loyalty, faithfulness and commitment, was brought about from individual's thoughts, choices and perceptions of how love ought to be. To be honest, this has only helped to restrict people's freedom and get feelings hurt from expectations.
Realistically, life is short, and it's hard to fathom how one would live this short life having sex and being attached with only one person, in a big world filled with so many attractive and beautiful people from different races and backgrounds. As hard as it is, people are still doing it. The problem is that many people do not know it is subjective and relative.
There is no universal absolute or standard for what love should look like. Love, loyalty and commitment means different things to different people. People are placed under pressure to accept the concept of one man and one woman. People who are not emotionally ready for the demands of commitment are getting into it. Humans are fickle. With commitment, expectations come and feelings get hurt at words said.
Love has been overused and abused, it is beginning to sound like a myth. The things people say about their ex's help push this narrative. You love someone today, and tomorrow after a break up, the person becomes a loathed enemy. Not everyone is monogamous in nature, and it is the reality you need to accept. Polyamory is the human side the society tries to surpress, thus making hypocrisy thrive.
Albeit the scary continuos increase in world population, the 50 percent divorce rate in the United States, and the high number of poor children in the world, there are so many other reasons why people choose not to get married or have kids, or be in a domestic partnership. Love, happiness and fulfilment is not tied to marriage. Just take a closer look at the people you think are happy in marriage, you'd find out your assumptions are false.
You live just once. Learn, grow, have sex if you want, explore, be independent, be emotionally mature, be happy. Do you. Don't let anyone choke you with marital tales. True happiness comes from within.
Daniel Osula, my Facebook friend, inspired this post. Some of his ideas were captured.