Hearing the news of Millie Bobby Brown’s engagement got me thinking about how many kids my age have been getting engaged, married or pregnant. Usually, I’m all for people doing what they want, but in this case, I’m wary of voicing my support.
It’s always a slightly jarring moment when you’re scrolling through your Instagram feed and an engagement announcement post from someone you went to high school with pops up. This has happened to me and a few friends on more than one occasion. There’s nothing fundamentally wrong with getting engaged so young, but there are a few things that make it a pretty big deal and something I’d never consider doing.
Reason one is that you’re literally still a teenager. Kids that are fresh out of high school don’t even have fully developed brains yet. You still have so much of your life ahead of you, and you don’t know what challenges you’ll encounter that will change what kind of person you are. Tying yourself to one person so early in your life probably isn’t the best idea. You’re still figuring out who you are as an individual and by getting engaged so early, you’re stunting a fair amount of that exploration.
Reason two is that the person you’re getting engaged to is probably from your high school or from your hometown. Not to be rude, but do you really think of all 7.8 billion on the planet, you just so happened to meet your soulmate at your high school? You haven’t had nearly enough time to figure out what you want in a life partner. You might love this person now, but as you continue to grow and change, what if they become someone else you can’t stand?
Reason three is that you have your own life to figure out. Whether or not you want to go to college, you’ll have to make all of your decisions while considering your fiancé. This might affect your choices and stop you from doing what you really want. Having to worry about a significant other in this capacity at such a young age isn’t going to help you set your life up how you want.
There are a bunch of other reasons I could list about why I personally will be avoiding engagement so young, but these are the few that seemed most pressing to me. Of course, there are always outliers to this scenario. Some people will be perfectly happy being engaged and married at a super young age, and it won’t affect their life course. But, a lot of people that are rushing into marriage young are going to find they aren’t as happy as they thought they’d be. I hope everything works out well for Millie and Jake Bongiovi, but to be honest, I don’t see it lasting for the rest of their lives.