Do I need an Indian girl?
Do I need an Indian girl?
A friend made me think yesterday.
We were driving back from a dinner.
4 guys from high school who graduated 14 years ago.
Getting together once a quarter just to chat and try a new restaurant.
So him and I stayed behind because there’s a great brewery a 2-minute walk from there.
Then we drove home, and as we were driving, he said to me.
‘I think you need an Indian girl.’
I hadn’t heard that before.
Hadn’t really thought hard about it before.
Do I really need one?
The short answer is no.
I could be happy with anyone.
From any religion or any culture.
But does it make my life easier down the road if I want to maintain my culture?
Of course it does.
To me, it matters more about the person.
And their family.
I would argue their family even more.
What values did they grow up with?
What were they taught?
What was their family life like growing up?
Did they get along with their parents?
Do they have siblings?
How’s their relationship with them?
Did they have good role models?
Or were they around bad ones as a baby?
All of this really matters.
It shapes an individual.
It shapes your personality.
It shapes your subconscious.
What you see from 0-5 determines who you are.
Who were you around?
How were you brought up?
What did you see?
What happened to you?
Literally and metaphorically.
A fantastic book by Oprah and a childhood development psychiatrist btw.
Highly recommend it.
One of the only books I read front to back and didn’t put down once.
All of that is important to understand in a person.
Especially one you’re gonna marry.
One you want to spend the rest of your life with.
How do they act?
What are their mannerisms?
What are they interested in?
What do they like?
Do they like similar things?
And one of the biggest questions for me.
Can they fit into your life?
Fit into your environments?
I’m thankfully very social.
Actually, my parents made me very social.
And they have a lot of friends.
I’ve been to 30 weddings since 2022 and have 4 more left this year.
We plan parties.
And concerts.
And dinners out.
Can that person fit into your life?
I don’t know if enough people ask that question.
And that’s a huge thing.
Because if you bring someone into your life who’s not from your culture, everyone will notice.
And you will notice.
As much as they’ll want to learn.
It will change the vibe.
Change how family friends, and cousins see you.
I could care less about that.
But a lot of people can’t.
They care too much about other people’s judgment.
To me, the question is this.
If I go to a party with a bunch of my family friends, am I comfortable with that person next to me?
Does she add to the night?
Add to the convo?
Comfortable on her own talking to people?
That is extremely important to me.
I’m very lucky with the life I have.
And I will not let someone come in to ruin it.
But this is where the culture question comes in.
I do have a lot of Indian things going on in my life.
Indian weddings.
Having Indian food.
Practicing certain Indian rituals.
Would someone who doesn’t understand my culture be interested in that?
Maybe.
The right one would.
But an Indian girl knows.
She’ll know about these off the bat.
It won’t be a new thing in her life.
Just someone else who does similar things to her.
And has been brought up in a similar way.
Does that mean cross-cultural marriages can’t work?
Absolutely not.
But it depends on your culture.
Depends on your life.
Depends on your family situation.
I’m thankfully very close to my family.
I spend a lot of time with them.
I want that person to also spend that time.
Some people don’t see their parents at all.
Barely call.
That is not me.
And that could be hard for someone to understand.
I know it’s hard for my friends to understand.
Especially when they first got to know me.
But this is my life.
This is how I live.
This is who I am.
I will not compromise that for someone.
Someone Indian.
Or someone not.
So do I need an Indian girl?
No.
But it might be helpful.