By Ana Ruiz Brictson | Staff Writer
Coming into a new school is extremely hard, especially when you are unaware of the different people, challenges and topics of conversations that you will be encountering once you settle in.
You would never expect a school whose academic reputation is so highly admired to have people who care so much about things like getting engaged before finishing the school year.
Now, I am not saying that an engagement is insignificant. It’s quite the opposite. It’s a decision between two people who are planning to spend the rest of their lives together.
My concern is with the manners in which people mock the idea of two people making that decision at such an early age. There have even been movies made about the topic in order to make fun of those who seem “desperate” to have or give that ring. No matter what reasoning a couple has in deciding to take that step, it is none of anyone’s business.
“Ring before spring” is the idea that many couples are looking to have sealed the deal by the time spring comes. It encourages the thought that many people are only in relationships looking to get married as soon as possible, rather than enjoying what they have now with their partners and having more time to plan ahead after college.
I understand that in a university with a relatively small student population like Baylor, a lot of people can be surprised by discovering that their friends, peers or classmates are making big decisions like this one.
It’s good to be excited for them — to celebrate this commitment. What astonishes me is that conversations about the matter don’t usually go this way, and I am relieved for couples when they actually do.
I won’t say that I’ve never spoken about this with other people; I have. However, thinking through it, I have come to the conclusion that I don’t understand their situation and that I am really not one to judge.
Life is about choices, and the beauty of it is that we always have more than one option for everything. To get married or not to get married. To talk or not to talk. Whatever we decide to do, we should always be aware that some of those decisions could involve other people, directly or indirectly.
I am not trying to give the talk that always ends in saying, “Never talk about people behind their back,” because it happens and is, many times, inevitable. What I am really asking is this: Is a random student’s engagement plan really a conversation you should be a part of?
