Arranged Marriages = Arranged happiness?

So one of my colleagues, B* has tendered her resignation because she is going back to India to get married with someone she has never seen before. Arranged marriage is typical in India and no surprise it is still very popular despite being in the 21st century. I am very curious as how it would feel because obviously I will never feel it and that haha i honestly do not think that they do lesbian arranged marriage.. they dont right?

Several excerpts of our conversation from B*

“It is my first time and I am falling deep for it.”
“I trust my father, because he knows who I am more than I know about myself.”
“I want my father to choose for me.”
“He is handsome and nice, I love him already.”
“I never had boyfriends because I don’t trust any of them.”
“I never met him before, only on Webcam.”
“I am going back to meet his family for real.”
“I am going back to get married and I am so happy and I am very excited.”
“Stop talking about him, makes me wanna call him right now.”

Tons of dazzling grins.

I was awed by her, I actually felt the way she feels by describing it, and I felt this happiness emerging despite busy writing reports. My repeated questions were, ‘what if you don’t like him’, ‘what if he is short?’ and includes alot of omg(s). But she laughed my worries telling me she already loved him and that she trusts her father, and she knows he is a good man and is the one for her. They obviously talked alot even when we are working! But I really don’t mind her staying in to just talk to him because it is so sweet and so true.

I heard alot about arranged marriages and they often end up in happy endings, with tons of kids and grandkids, being happy. Because your family will look into one’s family, status, education and interests before matching up and it worked magically most of the time. I like the idea because you end up marrying someone although with chances of you hating that person, but you end up learning and knowing that person for the rest of your life instead like us Chinese, want to go steady for like 10 years and then get married or worst, not even married after 10 years.

Sometimes we should take a leap of faith and trust. We gamble our lives everyday but we don’t lose ourselves, we only lose time. You can lose a house, a husband, a wife, your kids, your money but we should never lose ourselves.

Maybe somehow arranged marriages are arranged happiness.

Maybe we should just jump into something and just hope for the best as long as we want it to be the best for the both of us and lets just run away.

Happiness can be defined some other ways, it doesn’t have to be what other people sees it as.

(I feel a glimpse of hope right now and I hope it doesnt simmer, and I hope B* lives her life happily ever after, I know she will anyway. Jing and Hui, maybe you two should give it a try, but I am not dying to have a niece or nephew ok)