I always told my parents that Id never get married.
And somehow, I ended up engaged during my senior year of college to a guy from my hometown.
It mimicked who we were in lifea blank canvas without a fully developed personality.
Courtesy of Anne Roderique-Jones
There was the standard dance with dad, the white tiered wedding cake, and a white fluffy dress.
Few moments about our big day reflected who we were as a couple.
The dress, the decor, the festivities, they were all a reflection of 25-year-old me.
And very few of us have developed our own sense of style and aesthetic by that age."
If I were to fill out a form for a dream husband today, all boxes would be checked.
I knew nothing about adulting.
Statistics show that it wouldnt last.
It makes sense, really.
For us, this was certainly true.
When it came down to pulling the trigger, we panicked.
We were a couple of 25-year-old kids who, it turns out, werent ready to completely settle down.
Immediately, the choice felt right for us.
We thrived in Manhattan; its where we built a life.
I valued my independence at the same time as I relied on the partnership of marriage.
But the marriage itself was a solid trunk, anchored by strong roots.
We were learning to grow up together.
Moving from a small town in the Ozarks to NYC was like a social 180 for our marriage.
At times it left me feeling like an alien.
A husband was something that most 20-something women in NYC did not possess.
It felt like an episode ofSex and the Citythat I was written out of.
My dear friend Emily Krupa was the first in our group to get marriedat the age of 22.
I asked her what it had been like for her.
That was difficult trying to navigate what we should be doing, she tells me.
It was even more difficult once I got pregnant.
She tells me that while shes happier in her marriage now more than ever, it wasnt always easy.
I think there are downsides, too.
Welost parents, wade through typical family drama, and moved across the country.
The path people take to get to that willingness to work is different for every couple.
My husband and I sought out our own version of happiness that made us content.
This child bride feels pretty lucky indeed.
