I am 22 years old. I am getting married in nine days. I cannot count the number of times I hear, "You're getting married? Already? How old are you?" when people see my ring. I get those looks of pity like they think I truly don't understand what I am getting into. One time a person started jokingly calling me Jessa Duggar because they thought it was a religious thing that my family had made me court and get married before we could even kiss. Someone asked me if we were getting a pre-nup because getting married young ends so often in divorce. To all those people who think we are crazy for getting married young and feel the need to give me these kind of comments, I have a few things to tell you.

First, to those who say we don't know what we are getting into, I have been with my soon-to-be husband for almost seven years. That is longer than the average 30-year-old dates before they get married. I know him better than anyone in the world and vice versa. We made it through high school and college together, we have seen each other at our best and worst for years, we have witnessed each other grow and change and are still in love. He is still my favorite person in the world. We are not getting married on a whim of young love; this is a long-term relationship and we both have talked about marriage and what we want out of life extensively. We are prepared to make this marriage work and last. We are not in this for short term, we are in it for life. We have been engaged for two years, which is plenty of time to figure out what we wanted and to make sure marriage was truly what we wanted to do right now.

Second, to those who say I am throwing away my life and I should "find myself" before tying myself to a man, you are so wrong. I am not throwing away anything. I am gaining a person to share my life with and build a beautiful, crazy life with. We can travel together, explore together, learn and grow together. Why not experience life with the person you love beside you? Why not have a person there to cheer you up and support you every step of the way? What is so wrong with that? As for needing to "find myself" before settling down; I can find myself and be myself single or married. I know who I am and what I want out of life. So does he and he supports me in everything. Being married isn't a prison sentence, and it does not change your innate character or cause you to shut down. I will still grow and change and he will too. The best part is that we get to do it together.

Third, to those who say we should have dated other people to know what we like, I say, "oh well." I didn't know that my fiance would be my first and last kiss. I never planned to only date one person and end up marrying them. But when you meet the right one, there is no reason to throw it away just to play the field a bit. I also saved myself a lot of heartache and bad dates, so no complaints there. Maybe I am just a romantic at heart, but I believe that sometimes the first is the best. I also bought the first wedding dress I ever tried on so maybe that is just me and well, that is OK.

Fourth, I am not giving up anything to marry my love and I am not wasting my 20's. I am still going to law school, I will still travel the world, I will still make mistakes and do crazy things and enjoy my 20s. I will just do all of that with my best friend. All I see is gaining a partner in everything I do and a support system.

Lastly, to those that give me the pitying looks, I actually pity you. Feeling the need to look at me that way for doing nothing more than marrying the love of my life is a bit ridiculous. Stop worrying about me and my life and worry about your own a bit more. For hundreds of years, people throughout history got married young and yet had more lasting marriages than we do in today's world. So what is wrong with me doing something that has worked so well in the past?

Getting to spend your life with someone you love is a beautiful thing. I absolutely cannot wait to be married at 22 and to spend my life exploring, growing, laughing and making memories with my favorite person in the world. There's really nothing wrong with that.