Female, Educated, and Perpetually Single: Erica Morin at TEDxTexasTechUniversity

"Have you met someone?" "Are you dating someone?" "Don't worry; you'll find someone." These are among the most common and despised expressions levied against young, unmarried women in today's society. Despite personal and academic success, women in American culture continue to be considered incomplete without a ring on their finger. As a 31-year-old female, educated, independent, and accomplished, but not married, not engaged and not even close, Erica knows what it is to be seen as a failure according to traditional gender norms. She seeks to raise awareness about the continuing pressures of marriage for young (and slightly less young) women in the United States. She promises not to deride marriage, but rather, to share her thoughts and experiences as a single, 30-something, female dating in the 21st century. Her talk is sure to resonate with audience members of all genders and ages, filled with humor, realism, and hope in which the suggestion is that parents, relatives, peers and friends just let fate run its course. Basically, she's not worried; so please stop worrying for her!

In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized.* (*Subject to certain rules and regulations)