I just got back from the most well-traveled three weeks I’ve had in my life, and in my travels, I learned quite a bit about myself and the people around me. My latest stop to San Diego, CA, was no different. My friend of 10 years Ceci and her now-husband Trevor invited me to their harbor-side wedding, and a few thoughts rushed through my mind as I heard and watched the nuptials:

• Preparing for a wedding between two different cultures must feel akin to using a wrench to pull teeth.
• One’s love and resolve for whom they marry has to be stronger than what others perceive they should marry.
• The whole process of marriage requires an entire community of supporters as well.

I’m in an age group where everyone seems to be getting married (for the first time) and starting families, and these three pieces seem to fit my unrefined beliefs about marriage at this point. I believe in the general concept of marriage, and see why one would celebrate it. Am I ready for that? Probably not. Would I consider it? Definitely. It’s worth acknowledging that the more it happens in front of me, the more evidence I’m gathering that a successful marriage can (and should) happen.

My early childhood and present adulthood is replete with examples of marriages gone astray, either from personal strain or eventual incompatibility. And much like the nuptials themselves, a marriage takes lots of hard work on both sides to maintain. Upkeep is critical, and it takes strong individuals to form a stronger union. As the obstacles grow in speed and stature, married couples have to hold tighter to each other, their dances sharper and closer to each other when the tides undulate in magnitude.

It seems to me that Trevor and Ceci (or Mrs. Trevor Tamsen) are up for the challenge. Knowing so many of the events leading up to the moment where they consecrated their vows, it’s only right that they’d be half-asleep while the rest of us were celebrating their marriage. Work of that nature should always be celebrated.

Jose, who’s exhausted in his own right from a 6am flight …