Love Story

My parents met through a mutual friend, Professor Thomas, who gave each family the other's contact information. The two family's talked and my mom's parents went to my dad's house and talked to him and his parents. My dad and his parents were invited to my mom's house, where my parents first met in person. They talked about what they liked to do and their work. My mom had previous proposals but liked my dad much better. After mulling over the decision for a month of whether or not to marry my mom, my dad agreed to the marriage. My dad's father was not for the marriage because he would not receive as high of dowry but my dad's mother was fine with the marriage because she loved my mom. They were engaged before they started dating. At the engagement, which was held in March of 1990, rings were exchanged and the marriage was officially announced. For the next three months, my parents dated. My dad visited her and they wrote letters to each other. Their first date was at a coffee shop near my mom's hospital. On June 16, 1990, my parents were married at my dad's church.

Over the years, my parents have struggled through a lot, like moving to a new country, completing hectic medical training, and raising two kids. These struggles, though, have enhanced their relationship and helped them to bond really well, promoting a solid foundation for their future together. They don't really show their love outwardly but rather say that their love is understood between the two of them. Of course, they still hug every once in a while. They have grown together with God and my mom has definitely been the one to bring my dad closer to God, since he was not religious early in his life.

Based off my parents' story, all relationships do not need to have started in college to be successful. People do not have to date for six years to figure out they want to get married. Nevertheless, I do not want an arranged marriage. I would rather find someone on my own and try to get to know them for some time. My parents' relationship is not like any others on TV or in movies. It's not the stereotypical arranged marriage where the bride is forced to marry a random stranger she's never seen before but it's definitely not like a high school sweetheart marriage, like The Notebook. My parents' marriage is definitely not something to be compared to Kim Kardashian's "marriage" to Kris Humphries. (Can you even call that a marriage?) My parents have committed themselves to a life long marriage.

I would use Adele's "Make You Feel My Love" to describe my parents' relationship. Adele sings, "The storms are raging on the rolling sea / And on the highway of regret / The wings of change are blowing wild and free." The storms, I would say, are the difficulties that my parents faced in the beginning of their marriage. But in the end, their love grew and was cultivated.