Little Sikh On the Prairie

Before you go and assume this is just a twenty-something ranting about how dating sucks (I mean it kind of is)…
Let me ask you this; have you ever hidden a boyfriend / girlfriend? What about explain to your mum what ‘ghosting’ is? Also, how many times in a week do your parents ask you when you’re going to settle down?

Dating in this crazy fast paced world that we live in, is no small feat.

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OPTIONS, SO MANY OPTIONS

Ryan Gosling put it best when he asked Rachel McAdams what she wanted and she had no idea. Albeit, The Notebook was set in the 1940’s but the woes of dating are still as prevalent today as they were back then.
Today, it is so incredibly easy to get a date…. as long as you have an ounce of sociability and an internet connection. With apps such as Tinder, Bumble, Match, Plenty of fish etc., there are pools of potential dates just waiting for a connection to happen. Gone are the days when dates were built up to mean something. They used to be when you met an interesting person or already had a connection with someone and wanted to build on it by asking them out. Now with the amount of options out there dating has become more of a ‘I want to know if you’re as hot as your picture and if I can stand your company for more than 30 minutes’.

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Love and marriage, love and marriage – OKAY WE GET IT

So here is the deal , most of us have been told that one of the biggest life stages that we go through is falling in love and getting married, and that it typically occurs in the 25 – 35 year range. Well that is just bullshit.
Today, most graduates finish their undergrad, work in a job for experience for a couple of years, then move onto grad school. After all that schooling, they go and travel or move to Australia for a year (because OPTIONS, SO MANY OPTIONS). By the time that is all done, they move to a new city, find a job they can turn into a career then start looking into investing for their future. At what stage does one fit a significant other into this? Thats rhetorical by the way.

Marriage is wonderful, and I hope that one day I find someone that is as committed to me as I am to them, and that we would express it by sharing vows and putting a ring on it.
That being said…I can wait.
The problem with millennial dating is that there is this underlying need to make fast connections and move on to the next best thing. The problem with generations prior is that they made connections and stuck with it without venturing out. So, why not find the happy medium and take your time to build something meaningful without forgetting that there is a whole world out there.

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Under pressure 

My last point is more closely related to being an Indian girl and dating. OH THE PRESSURE.
If you thought dating was hard already…try being a second generation Punjabi, where almost every single one of your cousins has married the perfect partner and you still cant figure out how to get a guy you like to text you back. There are many factors when I start to get serious with someone;

1. Can I introduce this person to my family?
   As in the 485 people that span from India to Australia to England to America.
   If my future someone is comfortable with dancing to Bhangra with my cousins, have a glassy with my grandad, and bringing my mum flowers, then I can answer yes to the above question. But what if that someone doesn’t want to partake in any of those things….then Boy Bye.
2. Are you a FOB? (Fresh off the boat)
   Now, when I say FOB I don’t literally mean an immigrant to a new country, because that isn’t an issue. I am more concerned with, are you going to be closed minded or open minded? As an Indian that grew up in England and now Canada, I have a pretty open mind and have a different lifestyle to those that live oversea’s (such as India). However, if you are accepting of my life choices , then I will be accepting of yours no matter where you came from. But if not then, adios!
3.  Are you a coconut? 
   For those that don’t know, a coconut is someone who is brown on the outside and white on the inside (please don’t be offended, i’m half coconut).
   My parents are amazing and always ensured that I knew exactly where my roots were, and taught me traditions from a very young age. I can converse in Punjabi and would consider it my second tongue, when going to see family, weddings or even visiting India, it becomes much easier for me to enjoy myself because of that. Indian culture is so rich with festivals such as Diwali, Vaisakhi and Lohri, and I was lucky enough to grow up partaking in them. As an Indian, you want to find a partner that understands and accepts that they’re going to have stand in the cold to watch fireworks on Diwali because thats tradition. Obviously, traditions don’t just apply to Indian culture but to all cultures. If my future someone doesn’t even know how to spell Diwali, despite what background, ethnicity or country they came from then I might have to keep looking for my lobster.

As much as I love the idea of Love, and enjoy blogging about it

Just remember this…

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– Georgina