When I was 4 years old, I met the boy I thought I was going to marry.
His name was Elijah. He was a teammate on my T-ball team. And honestly, that’s about all I remember. His family moved to Tennessee at the end of the summer, and I thought my heart was broken.
Then came my first boyfriend, at 13 years old. I had my first kiss with him under our school’s bleachers during a Friday night football game—something we had planned out a week in advance over late-night text messages. It lasted a whole two seconds, and our friends watched us, laughing and hollering.
Then at 16 years old came the person I first loved. For almost four years, I thought he was the one. He made me laugh harder than anyone else could. He taught me to let go, and he brought me out of my shell. But everyone makes mistakes, and he did something that made me never able to trust him again during my freshman year of college. I eventually broke up with him because I knew it wouldn’t last.
It’s been almost two years now. While I’ve been out on some dates since then, I vowed to myself when I ended that relationship that I was going to focus on me. I wanted to concentrate on school and prepare for my career. I wanted to spend time with my friends. I wanted to spend time with my family. And I wanted to have the independence of moving wherever I want after I graduate.
More and more people like me are putting their own wants and needs first, before even considering marriage. Some, though, still choose to marry young—which is the focus for this semester’s cover story.
Our writers have looked at a lot of sides to love and faith. We learned what love means to individuals across a variety of religious backgrounds. We learned how media representations of love can affect us. We learned how someone can take their love for their church and spread it to others. We even learned whether there is such thing as a soulmate. And we learned what it’s like to be in an abusive relationship, and why it can be so hard to leave.
I want to get married one day. I want to have my own family. But that day is not today, nor will it probably be anytime soon. And I’m happy with that. Until then, I’ll keep faith that the person I’m meant to love will enter my life when he’s meant to.
