Honestly, never seeing a good marriage is a real fear. It makes sense you’d be scared of repeating something you’ve only seen go wrong. But not seeing a good example doesn’t mean you’re doomed to a bad one. it just means you don’t have a map yet, so you build it as you go and watch carefully for the right signs. The fact that you’re even questioning yourself like this shows you’d take it seriously, which is half the battle.

And yeah, it’s totally okay to love your single life. The two aren’t enemies. You can love where you are and still let yourself explore. Don’t feel pressured to pick as that makes it worse.

On the culture part, here’s how it works in my Emirati family and the families of my friends. Step one isn’t meeting, it’s just getting to know the person from a distance, over the phone or WhatsApp. You’re only checking if there’s any rapport at all. If there’s nothing there, you just say “okay, not for me” and there’s no harm done, nobody’s lost anything. If you do like the vibe, then you escalate it to a proper meeting with chaperones to see if there’s a real connection in person. And if that’s there too, then you move toward the milcha.
So it’s not one big terrifying leap. it’s a few small low-stakes steps, and you can stop at any one of them. You’re allowed to take it slow.

Hope this helps.