Commitment
By Emily, age 21, Newfoundland
Sweet Designs Featured Writer
I don't know about the rest of you, but to me the C word is really scary. I love things to constantly change in my life. I like buying new posters for my room, discovering new shows to watch, and I definitely love having changes in my social life from time to time, so it comes as no shock to me that I hate things staying the same. This is especially true when I start dating.
When I was a kid, I had such a different idea of what my life was going to be like now. I thought I would have finished my education and would have found the love of my life and be ready for marriage. But now I find that my childhood fantasies will remain just that.
When I start dating a new guy, I'm always hopeful in the beginning. I think that this one is going to be different, that I'll finally be able to settle down. But as soon as he starts showing interest in me and doesn't want to see anyone else, I start to panic. My throat closes up, my mind races, and I'm looking for the quickest way out possible.
I was starting to think that it was just me, but I've been talking to some of my other friends, and they seem to have the same problem as me. As I look around my campus or at other people I know, a vast majority of them are not in relationships. And then it dawned on me: What if our generation just isn't the committing type?
I think one of the big problems is that we want our cake and to be able to eat it too. We want to be in a relationship, we want to have someone to share our lives with, but we want our independence too. We don't want to have to give that up in order to be with someone, which is indeed selfish, but it's also the way society in this day and age has taught us to be.
In society, it is now more socially acceptable to have casual sex than it was even 10 years ago. With this realization, it has also become more acceptable to casually date as well. And with it comes a price: Fear of Commitment.
So when will we settle down? When will we find it acceptable to be able to find someone to spend our time with? When will we finally overcome our fear of commitment?
