Validity in All Forms

 I've seen more than a few times lately, the pressure society puts on others to get married.  That because two people have signed a paper, their relationship is more successful, or real than those who haven't.  How it's an expected step, and otherwise there's some amount of fear of commitment, or people just being insecure and cowardly.

Now, I've spoken about how I dislike the pressure to ride the relationship and life escalators.  How it's ridiculous to expect the exact same timeline out of every human, and for them all to want the same things.

However, the idea that marriage is the only thing that makes a relationship successful, and instantly makes a couple more valid than those who aren't is abhorrent.  

I know so many people who got married due to pressure from one side, and then wound up being toxic or abusive.  People who did what they thought they were supposed to do because everyone was asking when they would, only to realize they were miserable the entire time as soon as there was legal attachment.  Couples who rushed to get married in the excitement of a new relationship, then learned they weren't at all compatible on a personal level.

Successful relationships put the people involved first, and not the title, or concept around how others see it.  They take care of themselves, and the other person, built connection, have clear communication, and help the other person grow and find happiness.  Even if that results in people growing apart, so long as the initial basis came from a healthy place, that relationship was successful.

Success is coming out of something better than when you went in, in whatever form that takes.  Not a piece of paper, some jewelry, or a title.