For me, life is a journey and so is a relationship. I don't personally believe that there is a perfect couple or a perfect relationship. In every relationship, there will always be conflicts, crisis, and many others. It is how those couples handle those adversaries that will define how the relationship turn out. Those couple must be committed to each other in the long run, they must have mutual respect, give each other spaces, not rush to judgment, and be forgiving.
I have seen to many people that have said that so and so is my life partner or that it is true love. If that is correct, why are the number of divorces so high? I have come to my own conclusion that marriage is more than just a piece of paper, more than just a ring, a ceremony, etc. You as a person must understand who you are and love yourself first and foremost. I'm not talking about being selfish but rather a self-introspection of yourself as a person. What do you like? What makes you tick? What are your passion? What drives you? Have you accomplished your goals?
Being from an Asian background, age is always being pushed around and people are always pushing you as a person to get marry when a lot of us are not mentally prepare for it. People mature at different rates and they value things differently. Some might value kids, some might value stability, etc. As I am getting up there in age, I am beginning to feel the pressure from society (friends and family) about getting marriage. I just feel like it should not be their perrogative if I get marry right now or that a lot of my friends have started family. I am different, I think differently from them and my values are different from them. It is not that I think I am better than them but that I value things differently than them. I value freedom, goals and accomplishments, personal experiences, and many more than our traditional values. For me, marriage shouldn't be about that paperwork that said you're official marry. It shouldn't be about that ring or gift during the year. If you're thinking about the person you love, you should buy it whenver you think about them not just on Valentine Day, Christmas, etc. A relationship should be free flowing not something that is restrictive or suffocating.