In coming to college, I have caught myself looking back on the students I went to high school with. Everyone seems to be rushing into things, a few young couples that I used to hang out with have gotten married, a few young girls have babies on the way if they hadn't had them already. All of it can be intimidating. I come from a family that personally talked down on all of that. The past two generations of my family on my father's side were teen parents, and had married young, and faced poverty and divorce. Things essentially fell apart within my family. I was raised to believe that choosing this life path was the wrong thing to do, that it will hinder living comfortably. I have reconnected with my high school friends who subjected themselves to this path, and the majority of them couldn't be happier.
What I have learned from talking to others is that it is okay to settle down. It is okay to marry young, or to rent an apartment immediately, or to choose to do something other than going to college. Sure, it may be a little more difficult, more work may need to be done, but who is to say that settling earlier is any less fulfilling? Still, in talking with my family about these topics, they tend to throw up their chin at the idea, but why? Just because it hasn't worked out for some, doesn't mean it cannot work out for others. The stigma that surrounds the ideas of not pursuing a college education and settling down instead need to end. It is not a lifestyle for everyone, but for some, it may be the best, most beneficial option. There is no shame to choosing a different path.
Take some time. Relax. Think about what you want out of life. Some people want to travel the world, some people feel fulfilled through children, and others aspire to learn all they can and fill their lives with different experiences. I feel like we are forced to choose what we want, or what we think we want, at a young age, and by rushing this, we cheat ourselves out of what we really want. We need to take time and think for ourselves in order to get the most out of our lives.
