Mississippi Marriage... & Divorce

*Please remember that everyone's views are different*

  
   It is gross outside. So of course I stopped to get a coffee this morning and behind me are some not so stereotypical Ole Miss freshmen. They were having a discussion about the increase in Mississippi marriage and divorce rates, which was an article in the Daily Mississippian (DM) today. Naturally I listened in on what they were saying as my sociology class discussed marriage last week. For the record my parents are happily married.  Not being from "the south" (because according to most down here Virginia is not the south,which it is, Mississippi is just the DEEP south but that is for another post) I have been exposed to different ideas and people. The idea of an "MRS degree" or a "ring in the spring" is simply not something I was sent to college for.       
     In sociology class we talked about the increase of the average age for marriage, women went from 23 to 25 and men went from 25 to 27. To me this is not surprising, the pressure for a ring was never there, however this was a shock to others. A Mississippian piped up in class, she was shocked saying that Mississippi should have the lowest divorce rates because of the importance of religion and the importance of marrying for the right reason... love. When in reality when a girl talks about finding "the one" she hardly ever talks about love, instead she typically describes her dream ring, which is usually a huge rock... that doesn't sound like love to me. 
     The not so stereotypical freshman (a guy and his girlfriend?) had a different take on it. They were debating if sex had any play in it. Waiting until marriage is expected but does that cause a rush into getting married or change the reason in marriage? They failed to mention love although did explain(?) why both marriage and divorce rates were high. They debated that marriage occurs so young because it is tradition and because of the desire for sex and the divorce was a product of no longer desiring sex and not truly being in love, which doesn't make sense. Why you might think, because according to the DM article the most common age for divorce is 60, which is when most people retire. Interesting because that is when the kids are independent (hopefully) and it is supposed to be easy living. 
    So what are your thoughts? Is it totally absurd to be in college and looking for Mr Right or is it very feministic to put an education and a job before the search for "the one"? Where is the balance? 




PS.Yes, I do feel like Carrie Bradshaw writing such a relationshipy post.