My whole life I grew up expecting to follow a certain schedule that my parents/society laid out for me.
1. Graduate high school (with at least a 3.5 GPA. Anything less was unacceptable and would put my future college career in jeopardy).
2. Go to college. (Make sure grades are perfect. Because employers actually really care about grades).
3. Go to grad school. (While you're working full time, of course, because at this point you need to be able to support yourself).
4. Find the love of your life. (Because by this time you should be financially stable and at a good place in your career).
5. Get married. (Same reason as above. Also, add: good time to give your parents grandchildren).
What happens when you do those things out of order?
I did things a little differently. I graduated high school. I'm in college. But, I found the love of my life when I was 19, during the first week of my second year of college.
Less than a month after I graduate college, we're getting married. This was not because I went to college with the intentions to get my MRS degree or become a trophy wife (although, there's nothing wrong with that either). But after I announced the engagement, I heard a lot of different things from people: "She's not old enough to know who she loves." "She just wanted the ring by spring." "She's settling."
And the worst: "Getting married so young will ruin your life."
So I broke society's schedule. I'm going to grad school after I get married. I found love a little earlier than most. This doesn't mean that I ruined my life. To be honest, the world expects young adults to know exactly what they want to do by the time that they're 18. When you get to college, you're expected to choose a major and stick to it, and you're not supposed to get married young because it'll make you stray from whatever vague career path you choose while you're in undergrad.
I've met 40-year-olds who are still trying to figure out what they want to do with life. They followed the path that they believed they were supposed to follow, rather than the one their gut told them to go down. Now they're in a place where they are still trying to figure out what -- and who -- they truly love.
Getting married young won't ruin my life. Instead of growing into who I am and into my career all alone, I get to do it with my best friend by my side. Instead of listening to the people who believe that I'm not old enough to know what I love, I get to prove to them that I'm willing to work every day to keep my love alive (because love is work).
And finally, instead of following society's pre-scheduled plan, I get to live my own life. Create my own plan. And that won't ruin my life; that'll make me into the person that I'm supposed to be.
