Marriage and Family =]

In all honesty, I believe a big part of the purpose of marriage for me is security. I of course am going to marry someone I do truly love and care for, but at the same time there are many other factors. Though the Masai women lead very different lives than I, I feel as if they also marry for security. Right now in the time of my life, moving out on my own is scary. I am currently looking for security in my life. What is normal to me in terms of a family is definitely everything but one man marrying one woman. The way the Masai families live is not what I would consider “normal” because of the society I live and have been brought up in. It seems as if the Masais purpose in life is work. That is all they seem to do. In contrast with that my family’s life has more value than just working and marrying multiple women. It seemed as if everything about the diversity in how people view sexuality, marriage and family surprised me.

The purpose of marriage for me, what is normal to me in terms of a family and my families purpose in life are all somewhat similar to the Masai and the Chinese, but also very different. First of all, like the conflict and conformity ready stated, i could never imagine having an arranged marriage. I see myself seeking the one I love, not my parents such as the Indians do. I do understand their reasoning for this … to a certain point. For example a part of the reason they have arranged marriage is because it gives their families security, that is one of the particular things I think is important in a marriage. Though many of these women have to leave their parents to marry and start a new family, the Chinese go back to see their family once a year. If they have to leave their family because of the way they live, it makes it a little better knowing they are able to see their family, unlike the masai women. Once they marry they start a whole new family in a different area than their own.

Everyone lives their lives differently and looks at marriage and family in different ways. Though I believe the way we live is the best, how do I really know. I only believe the way we marry and the way we spend time with our family is the right way because it is the way I was brought up. I believe that the Masai, Indians and Chinese all believe the way they live their life is the right way also, because of their culture.