Not long after my fiancé and I met in my freshman year of college, I knew he was “the one.” So many people struggle with how they know if their significant other is “the one,” and I think that it’s probably different for everyone. But I think usually you just know. I know it’s cliché, but it’s true. We talked about marriage from pretty early on in our relationship, and after a while, we knew that we would be getting married not long after we graduated college. For us, this was the right choice. Although we went to college together in Virginia, he lives in New York and I live in Florida. And since we decided not to live together before we were married, it didn’t make sense to wait years to be married, for multiple reasons. But the main one was that we were both ready to be married!

I’ve heard people say that “getting married young is like leaving the party at 9 p.m.” In my opinion, this couldn’t be farther from reality! If you feel that way about the person you’re marrying, you probably shouldn’t be marrying them. My fiancé is my best friend; I love doing everything with him, from traveling to mundane, everyday tasks. I can’t wait to be married to him so that we can spend our lives doing these things side by side. Some people want to travel before they’re married, but honestly, I wouldn’t want to travel without my spouse.

Everyone knows that finances can be tough in the young adult years, and would rather get past that point before they get married. However, this is actually something that I’m looking forward to: learning how to do a lot with a little, and “roughing it” with my partner for a few years. Every married couple I’ve ever talked to who got married young say that the “poor years” were the best years of their marriage.

Don’t misunderstand what I’m saying, though. I’m not saying that young marriage is something that should be idolized or people should work towards. For many people, young marriage is not a good decision. It’s especially not a good option if you try to make it work with someone just so you can be married young. This is a huge mistake; no one should get married young just for the sentiment. But if you’ve met “the one” and are committed to being with that person forever and you happen to be young, your age should not stop you from getting married.

I also don’t expect marriage to be easy at all. In fact, I realize that marriage, at times, is one of the most difficult parts of someone’s life. This is exactly why I’ve chosen to marry my partner: he’s the person that I think will be worth every hardship life can throw at us. Marriage is a partnership with someone with whom you don’t always feel in love with, so you must choose someone who you like and respect even if you don’t always feel sentimental love towards them. The annoyances and stressors will always come, but with the right person, you’ll be able to fall back in love with them many times over. I can’t wait to marry my fiancé in a few months, and begin our lives together from a young age and experience the world, our lives, and grow old together.