The New Indian Bride

Please rise in front of your laptop, Ipad, Iphone, Blackberry or in front of whatever smart device you are reading this post on and give me a round of applause.  Yes, that’s right.  I would like you to clap for me, preferably loudly and preferably for at least 20 seconds.  If you would like to shout things like “Hollaaaa” or “You Go Girl!” or ”Shaava! Shaava!” into your smart device then please feel free.  Why all the clapping and shouting you ask?  Well as of today, I have been married for 366 days.  That means, I have officially (and barely) survived my first year of marriage. 

Since I am still in the thick of it I am not quite ready to be reflective on my experiences.  I will say that I was completely unprepared and naive about what it means to be married, the types of challenges married couples face and how interesting it can be to integrate the lives of two different people from two very different places.

But with my 366 days under my belt, I can say that the number one thing I have learned in my first year of marriage is in order to feel satisfied and happy in a marriage you have to feel 100% happy and fulfilled with yourself.  If you feel 100% fulfilled in yourself then you will feel like giving 100% to your marriage.  If you are not happy with yourself – not happy with your clothes, not happy with the way you spend your time, not happy with your job, not happy with some component of your life – then changing, adapting and adjusting to the other person seems monumentally more difficult. 

So to all The Newly Married Indian Brides out there, stay true to who you are and stay satisfied in yourself.  If you are satisfied with yourself you will be more able to give, to understand, to reflect and to enjoy this thing called marriage.

366 days and counting….