never get married

it's a piece of advice i have heard many many times since about driving age. there are the failed marriages of family, the random laments of customers in the restaurant and grocery store patrons, friends who found out the hard way getting married young is a ton of work, and most recently, every person i work with, shop and in the field.

i know some people have this dreamy idea of marriage, but the only people talking positive about marriage are the unmarried, the only ones talking negative are the married and unhappy, and the married and content (as far as they show) don't say anything at all, except the occassional complaint.

i see marriage rip people's souls in half, but only most of the time. there are some happy marriages, but even then the compromises and forfeiture of their freedoms is far from encouraging. i don't like what happens to the people i know once they get married, and i don't like the institution of marriage that we know today.

commitment does not bother me. obligation i could do without.