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"Save the Date reader Brooke may still be a teenager, but she&amp;amp;#8217;s ready to marry her also-young boyfriend. See why and check out what I have to say to her. Writes Brooke: &amp;amp;#8220;My boyfriend and I have been dating for four years. We both just graduated from high school together; I&amp;amp;#8217;m 19 and he&amp;amp;#8217;s 18. I know 100% that he is the one and I want to marry him now! I&amp;amp;#8217;m just afraid if we get married too young, we may end up getting divorced like my parents did. Should we go for it anyway?&amp;amp;#8221; Here&amp;amp;#8217;s what I think: Oh, I was exactly in your shoes, Brooke! Paul and I were dating for four-and-a-half years when we graduated from high school. And I also 100% knew he was the one (not that many people believed a 17-year-old could be so sure about her future husband!). And even though marriage wasn&amp;amp;#8217;t quite on my mind yet (I was so focused on going away to college and living on my own for the first time), I think I would have said yes if Paul proposed to me then and become one of those rare people who gets married as an undergraduate. But here&amp;amp;#8217;s why I&amp;amp;#8217;m glad we waited: Even though Paul and I, and I&amp;amp;#8217;m sure your boyfriend and you, went through a lot of changes together (hello, puberty!), your twenties bring even more changes, namely supporting yourselves. Finding and keeping jobs bring about new relationship issues you don&amp;amp;#8217;t have to deal with when your parents are footing the bill for food, fun, and shelter. If the love is there, and you&amp;amp;#8217;re good at compromising, you can make it past any obstacle, money or otherwise. Please give yourselves the chance to face those challenges before there&amp;amp;#8217;s a ring on your finger if divorce is something you want to avoid. If he&amp;amp;#8217;s the one, he&amp;amp;#8217;ll still be there when you&amp;amp;#8217;re 23 and have a few more years of life experience behind you. Also, ask yourself: Why do you want to get married right now? Are you afraid he&amp;amp;#8217;ll stray (or you will) without vows? If so, then your relationship definitely needs more time to ripen. If it&amp;amp;#8217;s because you don&amp;amp;#8217;t see the point in waiting since you&amp;amp;#8217;re so sure he&amp;amp;#8217;s your future husband, remind yourself of just how much better prepared you&amp;amp;#8217;ll be for marriage with some more years together. As Tom Petty said, the waiting is the hardest part, but as someone who&amp;amp;#8217;s made it to the other side, I promise it&amp;amp;#8217;s worth it. Anyone disagree with me and think Brooke should head to the altar now? Any other young women out there in Brooke&amp;amp;#8217;s shoes? Why do you want to get married now? See More Reader Dilemmas I Don&amp;amp;#8217;t Want to Ask My Sister to be Maid of Honor! My Son&amp;amp;#8217;s Future Mother in Law is Out of Her Mind! My Parents Are Being Awful! More Ways to Get Glamour Visit Shopglamour.com for cute stuff starting at just $10! Enter the latest Glamour sweepstakes! Follow us on Twitter Add us to your iGoogle homepage Photo: Jupiterimages"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.glamour.com/weddings/blogs/save-the-date/2010/06/readers-dilemma-im-young-but-i>