I came across this story on Xiaohongshu and I feel truly sympathetic. There was a time when I almost made the same choice as her, overshadowed by years of pressure to get married.

I vividly remember fighting against my entire family alone, crying every year as I celebrated the New Year.

Clearly, my previous generation didn’t see marriage as particularly promising. They often complained about their own marriages, yet still believed that getting married was a necessary part of life.

In the eyes of the older generation, whether you can make money doesn’t matter; whether you have a high education or not doesn’t matter; your IQ doesn’t matter. I rely on myself in a new first-tier city, buying a car and a house—none of that matters.

What matters is the constant question from my family: “What’s the point of a girl making money? When will you finally get married?”!

I often feel confused—does being a woman mean that my only purpose is to be a wife and a mother? Can I not just be myself?