"You're engaged and you're only twenty?"
Yes. I'm engaged and only twenty. I actually got engaged when I was still nineteen. Is it for everyone? No. Is it for me and my fiance? Yes.
I can't speak for him but I'm so tired of seeing the eye rolls and hearing how I'm messing up my life by settling down while I'm still so young, how I should live a little, and I'm not only holding myself back but him as well. I'm tired of having to explain myself and having to reassure everyone that this is what we want in life. I'm tired of feeling awkward and judged whenever I get asked about our engagement. Because of our age, one of the happiest times of our lives has turned into one of the most stressful and unenjoyable, at moments.
Most people our age aren't interested in being in committed relationships and that's fine. Most people our age run the other direction when forced to think about life after college. Most people our age cringe at the thought of having children and a place to call home anytime in this same decade.
Us? We dream about the day we get to say "I do". We dream about having a place of our own and going grocery shopping on a Saturday morning. We dream about having children and what that entails. Are all those other people our age in the wrong? No. Are we in the wrong? No. This is how we want to start out our adult lives. This is how we choose to envision our future together and no one can take that away from us.
My fiance and I are high school sweethearts. We met when we were still Juniors in high school and have been together ever since. Now we're Juniors in college and just celebrated our 3 year anniversary a few months back. By the time we get married (assuming things go as planned), we will be coming up on our 5 year anniversary. Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but that's much longer than most couples wait to get married. If I'm honest, most couples get married within the first year of even knowing each other, much less being engaged.
Our plan is to finish college. Our plan is to get married with just one semester of school left. Our plan is to be successful. Our plan is to achieve our dreams. Our plan is to go on to make a difference in our career jobs. Our plan is to do all of these things TOGETHER. Because let's be honest, life is simply better when we're together. Goals are easier to meet, dreams are more easily achieved, and life just makes more sense when you get to do it with your best friend by your side.
Sure we're young. Sure we don't have it all figured it out. Sure we may stumble and fall a time or two on our way, but we'll make it. Life is too short to live with regrets and life is too short to be anything less than happy, even if that means making the people around us unhappy.
We know what we're in for. We know being on our own is expensive and we work very hard for just that reason. We know that life outside of the "safety of your childhood home" isn't all it's cut up to be. We know there will be times where we stop and say we're stupid. But that's ok because we'd rather be stupid in love than stupid by being apart.
So next time you go to ask us if we're sure we want to do this, please don't. We've never been more sure of anything in our lives.
