Adventures of a Young-ish Bride, The Bright Side of Things

I realized a few weeks back (after reading Mrs. Swan's awesome post about the challenges and perks of being a bride later in life) that I've done a lot of focusing on the negative aspects of being a young-ish bride and haven't really talked about all the wonderful parts about finding your partner at a young age. I guess it's often more emotionally pressing to write about my gripes and what is bothering me, but I certainly don't want to downplay all the great perks of being a young-ish bride, because there definitely are a lot!

I now present to you, The Perks:

• Experiencing many firsts together : I wrote about this a little in my post Growing Up TOGETHER, but it's such a big plus that I think it bears repeating. We get to be there for so many of life's little firsts that we might have missed if we hadn't found each other later in life! I love that our honeymoon will be Mr. Star's first time overseas and he's so proud of the fact that he took me to my first rock concert (Linkin Park, if you're interested!). We will be able to show our kids pictures of us graduating from college together and they'll think, "Aww, mom and dad had such dorky hair back then." You can't beat that.
  
• You don't have to teach an old dog new tricks : Well, that's kind've a funny way to talk about it, but it's true. If I hadn't found Mr. Star until later on in life, he might have been stuck in his nighttime jean-wearing, on-top-of-the-comforter sleeping ritual for good. Whew ;)
  
• Sense of completeness and peace makes you more successful : I've read articles about it and have noticed the feeling in myself that when you feel at peace and fulfilled in one area of life (such as your romantic pursuits), you are left feeling more emotionally open to accomplish things in other areas (such as your career or personal growth). Basically, when you feel like you've found your soulmate, you can stop spending so much time worrying about dating and finding a mate and devote more energy to the other things in your life that you want to be successful at.
  
• You make a great team and can accomplish things together that you couldn't apart : Mr. Star and I work really well together as a team and have been able to achieve things that I know we couldn't have apart. For example, we live in a really great apartment together, where we obviously share a bedroom. If we had to be paying to live in our own separate bedrooms and have roommates, there's no way we could afford such a nice place! Similarly, when one of us is struggling to find work or stay motivated, the other one is able to pick up the slack and get us back on track. It's really awesome to be a part of a built-in, forever team, as cheesy as that sounds. I definitely feel like it's given us a leg up!
  
• You get to be there firsthand for big family moments : Mr. Star has seen both of my little sisters learn to walk and I have been there for two of his little brothers graduating high school. It's wonderful to be able to be there for these momentous life events, instead of having to see them in pictures later! When you start off as a young-ish couple, you have more time to really become a part of the other person's family unit, which I think is so special.

These are just a few of the reasons why it can be so wonderful to share your life with someone from your young-ish days, on up! There are, of course, many more reasons, but these are the ones that are the most special to me.

You know, though, I didn't ask to be a young-ish bride. In fact, I was convinced for a very long time that I would never marry. It just so happened that I found Mr. Star when I did and that he forever changed my visions for the future.

I hope that by opening up to all of you about the very emotional ups and the downs of young-ish engagement that I've been able to help some of you young-ish brides to feel less alone and less crazy. Maybe I've also helped to soften the minds of a few not-so-young-ish folks out there who might have been thinking that we're all too young, who knows?

On that note, I'll be wrapping up my young-ish bride series. Since we're getting married in just five days (holy smokes!) and I've written about being young and getting married enough to make your eyes bleed, I'll think that's probably for the best.

 I'll leave you with this gem, one of my favorites, and so appropriate:

"When you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with someone, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible" -When Harry Met Sally

Stay strong, my fellow young-ish brides :)

The entirety of the Adventures of a Young-ish Bride Series:
The First in a Series
Family Matters
The Vendor Bender
Mrs. = Boring?
Growing Up TOGETHER
Blazing the Trail
Cover It Up!