<p>I got married two days after graduating from college to a guy who was in graduate school at the time. He was already supporting himself with a teaching assistantship, and we were both self-supporting from that point on. I don’t know whether we were really mature enough for the choice we made, but it mostly worked out OK. Oddly, we didn’t have kids for another ten years – very deliberately – because we didn’t feel mature enough for that! But we didn’t think of marriage in terms of maturity.</p>
<p>Getting married that early does involve some career compromises if the couple is not willing to consider a long-distance marriage. There are geographic limitations on the job and/or graduate school opportunities for one or both people. But is it really so different from what would happen in a long-term relationship that continues after college graduation without benefit of a marriage license? Unmarried committed couples often make career compromises, too, so that they can live together.</p>
<p>I don’t think I would have made a better decision if I had dated longer. I’m not overly social. I hated dating. If the relationship that led to my marriage had broken up, I would probably have gotten into another committed relationship as quickly as possible, just to avoid having to date. So I don’t think that waiting would have made any difference for me. Maybe it would have for my husband, who is not quite as antisocial as I am.</p>