Yes, the title is correct. I am 18 years old and as of last month, I am engaged to my boyfriend of 3 years. Before anyone panics, I do NOT intend to get married in the next year or the very near future! As much as I LOVE to look at wedding dresses and scroll through Pinterest for wedding themes, I will not be getting married until after college. For this reason, being engaged doesn’t seem like too much of a big deal!
In the case of my boyfriend, who I guess is my fiance now, being engaged is less of a big deal than everyone thinks. We have been long distance since the start of college, which most definitely sucks. After getting over the initial realization of not being able to see each other in person every day, things have gotten easier. I have his schedule and he has mine, so we can Skype in our free time. Sometimes we talk, but other times we just do homework in each other’s company. It’s been nice.
For us, being engaged doesn’t fundamentally change our relationship. Everything stays the same, except I wear a ring for some days out of the week. We joke about getting married a little bit more often now but everything is pretty chill. No flashy rings, Facebook announcements, and engagement photos, just a pair of college students deciding that they are more than a high school romance. We are kind of self-aware that the whole idea of being engaged at 18, and in his case 19, seems pretty out there, so it isn’t very publicized. Only close friends and family members know. Besides, it feels weird to walk around a college campus wearing a diamond engagement ring, so we’ve settled for a simple silver ring to keep it low-key. For the most part, we just wear friendship bracelets with each other’s names on them.
I wouldn’t necessarily recommend anyone to go right on ahead and get engaged, but just know that you aren’t crazy for thinking that you’ve found the love of your life. Some of us just get lucky! I believe that I did and as much as I enjoy college, I am excited to eventually settle down with my high school sweetheart.
Thank you for reading! Be sure to tell someone close to you that you love them; they deserve to hear it! :)