Teenage Marriage

Fall is always a prime time for weddings; within the last two weeks, my view of Facebook feeds has seen pictures from four different ceremonies.

However, the one that sticks out to me the most was a girl I graduated with: 19 years old and getting married.

Though I'm thrilled for her and wish her a lifetime of happiness, I cannot help but worry about the possibilities this could end badly; she's so young, and there are so many horror stories about teenage marriages ending in divorce.

I was reading an article earlier in the New York Times about Teenage Marriages, and it stated some of the worries I expressed.

"Studies show that today marriages are two to three times more likely to end in divorce than are marriages between 25 years of age and older," wrote Sarah Kershaw. "Most comprehensive study on marriage and age that sociologists cite was published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 2001, from 1995 data, and it found that 48 percent of those who marry before 18 are likely to divorce within 10 years, compared with 24 percent of those who marry after age 25."

This information, along with other statistics, I read at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/04/fashion/04marriage.html?_r=0

Though it is true each love story is different, I can only wish that the girl I've known for 14 years doesn't end up another statistic.