The following contains spoilers. You’ve been warned.
Michael Jackson!
OK, no matter how you feel about Jackson personally, the man made some awesome music in his lifetime, which is why I was uber excited for this week’s episode of “Glee”… the Michael Jackson episode!
Yup, lots of cool cover songs were there, accompanied by fantastic dance numbers, but this episode bit at me on a personal level. Do you remember the last time we watched “Glee” together (and by that I mean I watched it, and you read about it here), when Finn proposed to Rachel? Well, this week we saw her answer.
Throughout the episode, we saw Rachel hemming and hawing as she tried to make a decision as to whether or not to tie her life to one man for the remainder of her time on earth. For some reason, she decided to go to her boyfriend’s ex-girlfriend Quinn for advice. Because, of course, the best place to go for relationship advice is your current boyfriend’s ex-girlfriend (insert eye roll here).
This is where my issue with tonight’s show began and ended. Quinn told Rachel that she shouldn’t marry Finn. Rachel interjected with, “I know he and I haven’t lived together or anything, but, you know, I love him, and he’s the one, I know it.”
What the heck? Why are we sending a message to young people that it’s not only acceptable but also necessary to live together before marriage? No, I’m not a prude; I’m practical. Studies show that couples that live together before marriage are more likely to get divorced than those that don’t co-habitate.
Quinn also gave Rachel such awesome advice as, “We hardly know what we’re going to want in 15 years,” and “If you really want to be happy, you’re going to have to say goodbye.”
Who the heck knows where they’re going to be in 15 years? I sure don’t. One thing I know is that I will be standing next to my husband, because no matter what this life throws at us, we are a team. We are holding hands, weathering the storms, and coming out the other side, caring for each other’s wounds.
I said yes when I was 18 years old. I said I Do seven months later, when I was 19. We’ll celebrate our 10th anniversary next July, and while it’s been quite a ride, I wouldn’t trade it for anything. Do you want to know why? It’s because we don’t treat marriage as some feeling — we treat it as a commitment.
Of course there will be feelings involved, but the thing that gets you through the rough spots is that enduring commitment to one another. I hope my darling hubby doesn’t mind me sharing this, but during one pivotal fight in our relationship several years ago, he turned to me and said, “You’ve changed!”
I responded with, “You married a TEENAGER; what did you expect?”
The fact of the matter is that marriage is special, and not just about that squishy-lovey feeling. People change; they always will. I am not the same person that I was when I walked down the aisle, and my husband is not the same person who stood there waiting for me. But we’ve come to recognize that despite our differences, our shortcomings, and our successes, it’s amazing to share your life with another person.
What ticked me off about tonight’s “Glee” was that it made it seem like Rachel had to make a decision between her own life and her boyfriend. Life is what you make it, and I say that it’s much better when you face it with a partner in crime.
I adore my husband, and “Glee” made me sad that so many young people will only hear that marriage ends your dreams and ambitions. None of mine would have come true without him.
Rachel did eventually say yes to Finn when she thought she was rejected from her performance college of choice. When she got her letter saying she was a finalist, we got to see the fear in her eyes over her realization over what she had done.
Because, according to “Glee,” marriage ruins your life.
Or something.
I guess I’ll have to keep on watching and reporting back to y’all on how Glee treats the issue of teenagers getting hitched!
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