Marriage and How Some Women Feel Like a Man is the Key to Happiness

• Girl: I want to be married by 27.
• Me: ...but you're single and 24. You're gonna find someone, date them, have them propose to you, and marry them in 3 years?
• When I was a girl, I swore I was going to get married at 25. Then I turned 20 and I realized that was way too soon. Then I thought 27 would be better because I was with someone and by then, we would've been together for 9 years. Then I turned 21, then a year later, I left him. Now I'm just like"it'll happen when it happens," and I'm absolutely fine with that, but some girls aren't. I know a few girls who have that proverbial ticking biological clock. They have this strong desire to be attached; to be married to someone, it doesn't really matter who. They see every man as a potential husband and they treat them as such. Then they look at me with a mixture of pity/confusion because I don't have the same mentality. As if they feel sorry for me because how will I find a man if I spend my life not looking for one? How will I be happy?
• I don't measure my happiness by a man that decides to be with me. I measure my happiness by how successful I am at living out my dreams. I gave up so much to be with someone before and I refuse to do that again. I'm not going to compromise myself or how I feel for anyone. Somewhere, there is a guy who's dreams will parallel mine or maybe he'll simply help me bring them to fruition. I haven't met him yet, or maybe I have. A few of the men in my life certainly seem to think so, lol. For now, I'm guarding my heart and following my dreams. I'm traveling down this path alone, but I'm definitely not lonely.