Whether you are being pushed away or doing the pushing, the word commitment sounds equally as horrendous as student loans, Freshman 15 and the discontinuation of Twinkies. I have noticed a plethora of young adults drowning in our dating culture, including myself. Therefore I philosophized a theory about commitment.
First I want you to think about the time that basic flip phones began popping up on the market and how common it was to see children own cell phones. The selfie was surfacing, texting became faster and in person interactions became less common. Since our generation specifically was at the age of stepping into sexuality our first interactions were over a device. I blame my awkward encounters on the fact I never learned how to talk to the sex of my interest. Even though the bags under my eyes have been from staying up all night texting and snap chatting I become overwhelmingly nervous when I have to see them in person. We are better at describing a moment with emojis instead of our actual emotions.
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Secondly, notice that when you have a fear it is because you believe something terrible will happen to you. For example, the commitment of a tattoo is terrifying because it could refrain us from getting our dream job or the way others perceive us. According to Forbes Magazine tattoos are no longer the kiss of death, which means our generation is changing the stereotype of ink. How strange that we rather commit to a life long image on our skin before we would a relationship? It could be because a tattoo represents more of who we are rather than feeling afraid that someone will take our identity away.
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I remember sitting on the playground when a boy in my class was telling me that his parents never got married as I was explaining mine were getting a divorce. Whether your parents made it or not, we witnessed enough of the social normality’s change in both men and women and how we treat each other in relationships. We play games like there is a prize when someone has the upper hand. With the large social media market we are standing in a candy store 24/7 so why just eat one type of candy? Social media took a storm from Facebook to Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat and we all became addicted to the fact that hundreds of people have the ability to watch our lives. That amount of pressure can alter our views on commitment, or we commit more to where we stand in the media world.
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Although I am among the many who struggle with the C word, one of the largest commitments in my life is my playful puppy. I was throwing my furry friends slobbery ball while watching him frolic in the park thinking to myself, “ I am in this for the next 10-12 years of my life.” A fear rushed through my body but I then realized the beautiful part about commitment is that we have to jump in with both feet, love the laughs and learn from the hardships. Commitment doesn’t always have to be “Until death do us apart.” It can start as small as deciding that you will keep your word to someone else for either the next day or next year. Celebrate the small commitments that are brought up daily in your life. Eventually it will be worth it to thrive in monogamy.Â