Sometimes, the timing is just right for BU students
Many Christian universities undergo some criticism because of their students being eager to get married shortly after receiving their undergraduate degrees, but I believe that is a good thing. By no means do I think that everyone has to be engaged or they’re considered the outcast, but if it happens naturally why should someone be criticized?
The number of college students delaying marriage and opting to be more promiscuous is increasing, so Christian students who find a relationship rather than a “hook-up” are following God’s intended plan. 1 Corinthians 7:9 says, “But if they cannot control themselves, they should marry, for it is better to marry than to burn with passion.” Finding that special someone you want to share the rest of your life with is a blessing and a gift from God.
Junior Natalie Garnett, whose sister got married shortly after graduation in the spring, said, “If you find the person you want to start the rest of your life with in college, it is natural to want to start your life together. ”
Colleges everywhere, Christian and non-Christian, are considered the ideal place to meet that special someone to spend the rest of your life with. In the South, it is more acceptable to get married young than in the northern states.
Professors joke around, saying that females are running out of time to get out ring by spring, but no one is saying students must get married by the time they graduate or they are never going to find a soul mate.
Even my marketing professor showed us a website on how to create the perfect engagement ring and gave tips to the males in the room. There was also a recent article in Baylor Proud about Baylor guys finding creative ways to propose to their Baylor girls.
Some students do joke around and say that girls come to Baylor just to gain their MRS degree and not have to work a day in their life.
I believe that times have changed in the way that women come to college just to meet a spouse instead of being focused on their career.
Senior Nikki Friend recently got engaged to former Baylor baseball pitcher Aaron Miller. Friend said, “I can remember the first time one of my sisters passed the candle in Pi Phi, I thought it was so crazy that someone a few years older than me was getting married. But ever since then I hoped I would get my ring by spring.”
I was raised in a household that always expected me to have a career and not have to rely on anyone, and I think that is the way most households raise their girls. No one is saying by following the “ring by spring” stereotype that you have to choose between your education and being a spouse.
I believe that at a Christian university we can be proud that students have found lasting relationships that eventually lead to marriage in addition to a well-rounded and bright future filled with the knowledge from a Christian-based education.
Laurean Love is a journalism news-editorial major from Longview and is a reporter for the Lariat.
