From where I came from, culture dictates that being still unmarried when you are in your 30s is already a taboo. It wasn't written in laws or something like that, but the humiliation that one has to undergo through feels like it was written on solid rock.
People will mock you in family gatherings, office parties, church organizations and most importantly in class reunions just because you happen to be the only one who is not hitched. If one has to take this kind of treatment with just a shrug... then you will survive without losing your sense of humor.
I was okay with singledom for awhile. I don't belong to a big family so I don't have to attend family gatherings very often except when a relative dies. And no matter how understanding my family was, there came a time when they were not able to protect me from the stigma of the society.
When I climbed to 40 something, the pressure was so intense that for some reason I was able to psyche myself up that I did need to get married in order to be happy.
I was wrong.
