Wikipedia tells me that ”Settling is the process by which particulates settle to the bottom of a liquid and form a sediment. Particles that experience a force, either due to gravity or due to centrifugal motion will tend to move in a uniform manner in the direction exerted by that force. For gravity settling, this means that the particles will tend to fall to the bottom of the vessel, forming a slurry at the vessel base. Settling is an important operation in many applications, such as mining, wastewater treatment, biological science and particle mechanics.”
Merriam-Webster gives me this humongo long list of technicalities that looks like this:
“Main entry: 1set·tle
transitive verb
1: to place so as to stay
2 a: to establish in residence b: to furnish with inhabitants : colonize
3 a: to cause to pack down b: to clarify by causing dregs or impurities to sink
4: to make quiet or orderly
5 a: to fix or resolve conclusively <settle the question> b: to establish or secure permanently <settle the order of royal succession> c: to conclude (a lawsuit) by agreement between parties usually out of court d: to close (as an account) by payment often of less than is due
6: to arrange in a desired position
7: to make or arrange for final disposition of <settled his affairs>
8of an animal : impregnate
intransitive verb
1: to come to rest
2 a: to sink gradually or to the bottom b: to become clear by the deposit of sediment or scum c: to become compact by sinking
3 a: to become fixed, resolved, or established <a cold settled in his chest> b: to establish a residence or colony <settled in Wisconsin> —often used with down
4 a: to become quiet or orderly b: to take up an ordered or stable life —often used with down<marry and settle down>
5 a: to adjust differences or accounts b: to come to a decision —used with on or upon<settled on a new plan> c: to conclude a lawsuit by agreement out of court
6of an animal : conceive”
There’s even an article written about how great it can be: http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200803/single-marry
Do I believe this article? Parts of it, but not all.
Someone asked me earlier if I thought *I* had settled. Honestly, sometimes I wonder. Then I put myself in a similar light as a lady from the aforementioned article — ““I should be with some guy with a vast vocabulary who is very smart,” said Heather, a 30-year-old lawyer turned journalist. Instead, she’s dating an actor who didn’t finish college. “My boyfriend is fun, he’s smart, but he hasn’t gone through years of school. He wanted to pursue acting. And you can tell—he doesn’t have that background, and it never ever once bothered me. But for everyone else, [his lack of education] is what they see.” ” But is that really the case? No one’s perfect… and kudos to this woman for sticking with someone she cares about despite what others think!
But I see myself in a similar situation at times, and it doesn’t really bother me. He is who he is, and if I wanted anything different I wouldn’t be here. He challenges me. He accepts me. We drive each other up the wall, but at he end of the day we both know who’s coming home to whom. He protects me. I feel exponentially better any time he even barely touches me. And there are another slew of reasons I know he’s the one, but noting them would get almost redundant and probably boring. So the question remains: Did *I* settle? Our priorities differ. Sometimes I think he acts like a little kid in situations and he’s forcing me to be the adult. Actually, that happens a lot. I wonder where we’re going to be financially, and geographically. But worse comes to worse, we’re eachothers’ for the taking.
If I credit Merriam-Webster with my thoughts on settling, I’d have to agree. To some extent, I have settled. I have “come to a decision;” I have “arrange[d myself] in a desired position.” I have “take[n] up an ordered or stable life”… or at least planned to.
I have my life in a tentative plan; I have the next eight months of classes almost nailed down. I know when I’m graduating. I know who I want to spend the rest of my life with. I know the general area in which I would like to raise whatever children I am blessed with. I know where my parents are, and I know I’ll always be able to rely on them. I have my sisters, I have my friends, and I have the people I know I can’t rely on for anything except to be a familiar face. All in all, I’d say I’m pretty decided, arranged, and orderly.
Did. I. Settle.
Does it really matter?
I’m happy.
