Originally posted on Literally, Darling
What does being 22 mean to you? Starting a career, traveling, or just consuming a little too much alcohol (but having the stamina to match)? For me, 22 has meant all of those things. I’m a young graduate with the world at my feet and not a single gray hair in sight. Oh, and I got married a month after I turned 22.
Before writing this article, I sat and reviewed articles about “the perks of getting married at a young age” from other big websites (who shall remain anonymous, for the fear of starting a cyber snark-fest). They suggested things like there being “less baggage,” the fact we might have grown up together, and generalizations like, “you’re proof that maturity comes at any age.” None of these points are entirely true or untrue, but they don’t exactly strike a chord; trust me, when we’re both lying in bed with crippling hangovers on a Sunday morning, I don’t exactly feel “mature.”
I can’t prescribe a set of absolute norms that Couples Who Get Married Young will typically experience or adhere to; honestly, I’m still curious as to how my dear husband and I ended up as we are right now, deliciously muddled as it may be. I could bore you for hours about the intricacies, starting with our fairytale-romance-turned-long-distance-hell-struggle, the “open relationship” phase, the discussions of the future, the proposal, the immigration, the budget wedding, the marriage. But all that stuff—the good, bad, ugly stuff—added up to a whole. It’s complicated, just like all relationships. It doesn’t fit into neat little boxes. So if you’re looking for someone to throw you a bone and say, “Hey, get married, it’ll look good on you” … I apologize, but I can’t pat you on the head and reassure you that your decision to get married under the age of 25 was a good one.
But I think mine was a good one.
