The Art of Marriage

        Music softly playing in the background, the world around me slowly fades away as the doors open and the love of my life strides in. When she finally reaches me, we say our vows – promises layered carefuly over trust, care, and hope - until the simple words "I do" leave our lips. The ring slides into her finger, and we just smile at each other. There is a slight pause before the words everyone has been waiting for echoes through the venue: "You may kiss the bride." The world seems to hold its breath as I slowly pull my soon to be wife in, and just as our lips are about to touch, a very excruciatingly loud alarm sounds throughout the venue. Everyone is looking around in confusion until suddenly, a blinding light shines in my face. "Jayden, WAKE UP!!! You're going to be late for school for the 100th time!!!!" My mom screams in my face as reality starts to set in that the perfect life I was supposed to build with my "'wife" was but a dream. In that moment, I wanted nothing more than to tell my mom to go away so that I can go back into my own world with my make-believe lady. I couldn't help but think, 'hot damn, im gonna be single for the rest of my life."

        As depressing as it is, the strange thing was that it still fely incredibly intimate. For being a woman that I had made up in my mind, it felt incredibly real – it felt like we had years of history that was leading up to this moment. This stupid dream somehow felt more genuine than a Las Vegas wedding. Matter of fact, my dream was probably about 30x longer than one.

        Las Vegas weddings, in my opinion, are completely absurd. They're essentially "quickie" weddings, lasitng around a whooping 20 minutes with those 20 minutes consisting of taking pictures and kissing. In my dream, the moment felt eternal – like the entire moment was stretched out in slow motion like a movie. In Las Vegas, though, I might've not even had the time to say my vows before being reminded that the next couple is waiting to also marry. 

        These weddings are built around efficiency and money, but marriage isn't supposed to be efficient. It's supposed to be intentional. The very idea that a marriage can be compressed to be shorter than a spongebob episode really baffles me; it really goes to show how easily something so sacred can be converted into a money-making scheme in our society. It isn't just a quick photoshoot or a spontaneous, in-the-moment thrill, but a promise thats meant to carry weight. Anything that holds that sort of importance should never be treated so lightly. Even in my dream, I was able to understand that marriage deserves stillness – that it deserved a small pause before the vows, kisses, and the weight behind the words "I do". Real marriage should be no different. It should be deliberate, calculated, and genuine, carefuly shaped by time and strengthened by the joys and sorrows of partnership. That's the art of marriage.

       Maybe tonight, as I go to sleep, I'll finally be able to finish my dream and do my Jayden Paik magic, without my alarm clock interrupting me of course :)