Landon Featherstone

FHS 2400
Period 5
8A Are you ready?
Are you Ready?: Suppose your 21 year old child or best friend came to you and asked the question,
"How do you know if you are ready for marriage?" How would you respond? If it will help, you may
interview two other people and list their answers in your paper. As you consider the factors predicting
marital success, look at your own past relationships. What factors, such as background, personality
characteristics, and relationship characteristics, might have predicted the quality of your relationship?
Were any particular characteristics especially important for you? Why?

In our ever changing society, the average age of marriage is increasing(Strong

and Cohen, 2014, pg284-285).

This is largely due to the fact that people are

questioning if they are ready for marriage or not. I feel I would be able to advise a friend
on marriage readiness based upon two determining factors. These factors include
education and dating experience. These standards would be important in defining
whether an individual is ready for such a commitment.

Gaining a proper education can be a huge determining factor on whether you

are prepared for marriage. Education often determines your financial status. A
marriage that has less financial stress and strain, will most likely be more successful.
Whether an individual attends a vocational school or gets a college degree, having an
education will result in better financial opportunities. For example, if you have little to no
education and chose to get married, you are more likely to experience stress in your

relationship. Higher stress often leads to higher divorce rates. I would advise my friend
to get a good education so that he can provide his spouse and family financial stability.

The second factor that would determine if you are ready for marriage would be
prior dating experience. Dating gives you the opportunity to meet a variety of people.
This in turn gives you the ability to meet different personalities and find out what
characteristics or traits you're attracted to. For example, by dating a variety people you
may learn that you like people who are light hearted and have a good sense of humor.
If you only ever date one person, you never learn what else is out there. By dating a
variety of people, you are more prepared to pick a future spouse.

Today many people are putting off marriage due to the fact that they simply do
not know if they are ready. The key factors to help you determine if you are ready to get
married are education and dating experience. Education is an important defining factor
because your schooling determines your future financial status. Dating experience
helps you determine what qualities and characteristics you are looking for in a mate. I
feel I would be able to advise a friend that they were ready to get married if they were
educated and had a variety of dating experiences.

Citation

Strong, B, & Cohen, T.F (2014). The marriage and family

experience: Intimate relationships in a changing society (12th
ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.