Photo courtesy of Google Images.
Valentine’s Day carries less pressure on campus this year as more young people choose the single life over getting their M-R-S degree.
Senior Alaina Peterkin says she likes being single. “It makes me independent. Right now my goals are to be happy and finish college. I believe that love will come when destiny says the time is right.”
According to the Institute for Family Studies, only 20% of 25-year-old women and 23% of 25-year-old men have ever married. Their figure showing “Historic and Forecast Ever-Married Shares by Age and Sex” indicates that marriage rates will continue to decline.
For comparison, in 1967, at the height of the Baby Boom, about 85% of 25-year-old women were married, along with 75% of 25-year-old men.
These numbers reflect a broader cultural shift in how young adults view relationships and marriage today.
Independence First, Relationships Later
When it comes to marriage, Peterkin says, young adults should wait until they are “emotionally ready and mature enough to have a relationship.”
The National Healthy Marriage Resource Center supports Peterkin’s statement. “Because maturity affects emotional control and reasoning, it affects a couple’s ability to successfully make joint decisions, work together toward relationship goals, and resolve conflicts effectively.”
Peterkin adds, “I want to get married but I’m not rushing it. Right now I’m more focused on my education and career. I want to have stability before I involve someone else in my life.”
Senior Jessica Vargas says she notices young people are waiting longer to get married and thinks it’s great.
“I don’t believe people should commit their lives to a partner when they’re so young. You should focus on establishing yourself and your career first.”
Vargas also says she doesn’t think age has anything to do with why she isn’t currently in a long-term relationship, and she considers herself “ready for that to come my way.
“I like being single and am not one to go out looking for a relationship. Marriage and kids are not things I think I truly need, but it all depends on who my future partner is and what our shared values are.”
Vargas adds she never wanted to get married even as a child. “I thought I would be less of a ‘girlboss’ with a man attached to my name, but I am definitely more open to marriage and kids nowadays.”
How SAU Singles Are Spending Valentine’s Day
Peterkin says she usually stays home over the holiday, but has Galentine’s plans with her roommate this year.
“We’re making chicken parm and some pasta and watching shows that aren’t considered romcoms. We might do some self-care too, and just take a break from school.”
Vargas says she loves Valentine’s Day. “It’s a day to celebrate love, and there is so much to love in this world. It’s a day to love yourself, your family, friends, and partners.”
This year Vargas’s birthday falls the Tuesday before Valentine’s Day, and she has to work, so she will celebrate her belated birthday with close friends.
Whether with friends, roommates, or alone, college students are showing that love comes in many forms, often starting with themselves.
