My sister Karin spent the night at our house for the Martin Luther King, jr holiday. I made it a true day of service by listening compassionately to her dating woes (she’s twenty-one! and prospect-less!) and giving her my finest advice: Buck up, Baby! One day you’ll meet someone and all your fears about not being able to love someone enough will seem crazy and two weeks later you’ll be engaged. It’s like in Knight and Day (a surprisingly entertaining movie) when Tom Cruise’s character does the with me/without me thing (it’s at 1:14). Someone, someday will make the “with me” thing seem like the best idea ever, an idea you don’t even have to think about.
Or you’ll stay single and travel the world. Either way.



Ahhhh! I’m 23 and am prospectless! Oh no!
Traveling the world actually sounds pretty fun, now that you mention it…
I totally wanted to say the same thing about some of my pics of the dear.
Shannon Reply:
January 20th, 2011 at 1:26 pm
I really should’ve used a different filter on it, this one is surprisingly flattering. — if you have a camera on your old iphone, you should download instagram. So fun for taking pics.
Everyone needs you for a big sister and big-sisterly advice!
I just read something about what increases/decreases the incidence of divorce. Waiting to marry until after college graduation, after age 25, and after finding a job or career choice you are happy with all increase the chance that you will make an appropriate mate choice and have a long and happy marriage.
Both parties have to be happy in their own skins and have become who they were meant to be. Those who are searching for their own personality and goals are not ready to choose someone to complement them and share their lives.
Shannon Reply:
January 20th, 2011 at 1:33 pm
I know that is all good advice, and I tell my sister there is no rush, and she better finish her degree before she has kids no matter what.
But … I married 2 days before my 21st birthday; my husband was three months shy of 23. We had one more year of college before we graduated together (we even took a couple classes together) and then we were off! Thirteen years and four kids later, I know we were lucky, but also — it was just the right person, right time, right place. The best and easiest decision I ever made. If you see your life and potential expanding when you envision it with that person rather than constricting and narrowing, then it might be okay to go for it.
i’m glad she is not with that slowpoke guy anymore..
21? Well that is practically an old maid…
BTW, I was also surprised how well I liked Knight and Day. Apparently I can believe Tom Cruise as a slightly unstable guy.
Shannon Reply:
January 20th, 2011 at 1:36 pm
Totally. I was going to skip K&D bec. the previews looked dumb (and the whole TC thing), but my dad liked it a lot, and I was glad I gave it a try.
My sister knows 21 isn’t THAT old (at least I think she does), but I and our other sister were both married before then, so I’m sure that is part of it. Of course, I got lucky and our other sister just recently remarried her real right husband at almost-30, so we had mixed results.