For most students, marriage is not even considered in high school or else it is completely of the question. But for some, dating and marriage have been a thought and as an extreme, planned out for others in their future. There are about 26,250,000 arranged marriages worldwide. In India, 88.4% of marriages are arranged according to statisticbrain.com. In the west, arranged marriages are somewhat foreign, but there is at least one at LZHS.

Puja Lad, more commonly called Po, freshman, has a future arranged marriage. Her upcoming union is classified as an endogamy, which is a marriage strictly within one’s own certain social group.

“It is more modern, so I get some saying in my marriage but essentially my parents choose,” Lad said about her situation pertaining to her future marriage. “I have know this for all my life, but I still feel a bit caged because I do not get the freedom to choose my own love life. At the same time, I also trust my parents.”

All of her cousins as well as her parents have been in arranged marriages, according to Lad, who says she is familiar with and understands the custom, as it is common in her family.

“All couples that my family knows are arranged. It feels right knowing that she will be in a healthy relationship. The wedding is a big part of her culture,” Lad’s father said.

As said, arranged marriages are very common in Lad’s Indian culture. She is Hindu and Gujarati and is able to speak Hindi, Gujarati, and Marathi. Some of the things her culture consists of are, going to traditional Indian dances, going to Indian and Hindu festivals at the temple, and taking part in Balodyan, which teaches Hindi.

“In my culture, my parents enforce some rules on me and I understand the reasoning behind it,” Lad said. “But I feel as if I cannot live my teenage years to the fullest.”

Lad talked about some unique things that differ from her to the average kid at LZ and some of them are dietary like no meat, eggs, another is carpooling, not wearing shorts, a curfew at nine, no outings on weekdays, 87% or higher grades, have to be a medical major, and they have to know her whereabouts 24/7 are only just a few.

“Being around all these kids my age and experiencing such fun things makes me feel as if I am missing out on this whole other world,” Lad said. “Although I appreciate my culture, I feel special being Indian, but living in America is a totally different experience with restrictions.”

There are many cultural rules Lad follows that affect her current life and her future marriage.

“It affects my family because if I do not follow through with the arranged marriage, I would be shunned and my family would expect an arranged marriage by default,” Lad said.

Lad explains the process of her arranged marriage is very different compared to other cultures.

“If I could put the whole process in my words, it would be like this: when I’m 24, my friends and family would recruit possible guys,” Lad said. “My parents and theirs meet and settle out all the options. Next, the guys are matched with horoscope and priest predictions, and finally I choose one guy to date, and then later comes the engagement. The wedding lasts six days and meeting my husband takes about six months to a year.”

According to Lad, she sometimes feels jealous of other girls who get to live a normal life.

“I could never have a natural love life. However, I feel safe because I know I’m in good hands and that my life is set,” Puja said. “If I could say one thing, it is do not take basic life decisions for granted because so much goes on behind the scenes that people just do not realize.”