Is Divorce a Way of Life?

BY CECELIA COOKE

Hi everyone, it’s Celia again. I’ve been thinking about ways in which America is different from other countries. I look forward to telling you about the many wonderful things in my country, but today I am going to tell you about something that seems to be worse here than in many other places: divorce.

Everyday I see news articles about people getting divorced. I don’t know firsthand how things were years ago, but people say that divorce is a lot more common now than it used to be.

I read somewhere that one in every three marriages ends in divorce. Judging by the media reports, it seems like just about all movie stars get divorced multiple times. I recently read that it has become popular for celebrities to throw “divorce parties” for their friends, celebrating their latest divorce. Nobody seems to think of divorce as a failure or as anything even to be embarrassed about.
Fortunately, most of my friends’ parents are still married, but I do have some friends with divorced parents. I feel bad for them when they have to go back and forth between homes, especially during holidays. Some of my friends dread Christmas vacation because they have to travel to stay with a parent. If they don’t, then they feel guilty. My parents celebrated their 30th wedding anniversary this year, so I know that I take a long marriage for granted. I wouldn’t want to see my mother and father only one at a time, shuttling back and forth between two households. Lots of kids live that way, though, but most of them seem to adjust to it.
So why do so many people get divorced? I don’t know, and I don’t think any of my friends could explain it. It must have something to do with the modern lifestyle and that many people don’t think divorce is that big of a deal. I do though, and so do a lot of my friends. Maybe we will make a change because we might stay married. My dad points out that people change jobs more than they used to, and they move more often to different cities or even states. So, may be people don’t look for long-term stability as much as they used to. That is something to think about, isn’t it? Let me know what you think.

Cecelia (“Celia”) Cooke is 17 years old.  She has lived all her life in Charleston, South Carolina.  This fall she will be a Senior at Bishop England High School.  She plays on the tennis team. Celia, who writes for The Sip of Life  fortnightly, can be contacted at cecelia@thesipoflife.com