Holiday Newsletter, Part 1

It's always bothered me that married people are entitled to draw attention to their lives and accomplishments (at least) once a year, in the form of the Holiday Newsletter.  (It also bothers me that just because two people fall in love and decide to make it work, they are allowed to ask their friends for money and presents, in the form of a bridal registry or a honeyfund.  Why not give the same privilege to a single person who has accomplished something big, such as obtaining a Ph.D, becoming an MD, serving the poor, becoming ordained, or making a career change?)

Ever since my friends started getting married and having kids, they would stay in touch annually with picture-postcards and newsletters.  It's not that I don't enjoy getting them--my complaint is that single people are never given permission to do the same. So I gave myself permission last year, as a way of responding to the injustice of it all.  I'm a big fan of "both/and" over "either/or."  So, let us not think that either you get married and send holiday greetings, or you remain single and silent.  Instead, let us celebrate that one can both choose singleness/studenthood AND be recognized as a legitimate adult!