Reflections on Marrying Young

I actually think there can be a lot to be said in favour of marrying young in many cases. I don't necessarily mean it's advisable to marry as soon as you're out of school (or even before then). However, there have certainly been plenty of young people who have entered into marriage before they were 20 and made a go of it. Indeed, it would surely be true that many of the now all-too-rare couples celebrating 50, 60 and maybe even 70 years of marriage would have been married very young.

If they are more mature than average and are genuinely in love and committed to each other, then they may well have an even better chance of making marriage work in the long run than others who leave marriage till much later. It really is an individual thing. In some cases those who marry young will have been childhood sweethearts and always knew they were meant to be together for life. Having said that, I feel that it should be the exception rather than the rule to marry in your teens. Also, I think that in this day and age, even getting married at 20 or 21 would be considered marrying young.

One of the reasons for this is that young people want to do so many things before they settle down - and they have so many more opportunities to do such things than they used to. Generally speaking, they are likely to spend more years completing their educational qualifications. Then they may want to travel abroad and/or establish a career first. Many young people are far more ambitious than they used to be and want to advance considerably in their chosen career before marrying and starting a family. Also, many want to even buy a home and get a considerable amount of money behind them first.

There are, I consider, pros and cons associated with these modern trends though. It's great for young people to get a sound education, a good career and financial stability at an early age. I also envy the young people of today who get to see the world when they are young and have so many amazing experiences.