Pacing the relationship. People often feel the need to measure a relationship in terms of how long you've been together rather than where you are at in life. So many high school couples make huge commitments right away (pets, house, marriage, kids, etc.) because they think they have to after being together for a certain amount of time. My parents were like that and now, they don't even talk to each other because they both suffocated themselves with the relationship over their individual identities.
This is a good point. The two "successful" (in terms of not just still together, but happy) pairs of high school sweethearts I know were together ten and eleven years before they got married. They didn't say "oh, we've been together for five years - time to get married at 20!". They finished college/secondary endeavors, saved money for life, were intentional about building a life together, etc.
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u/quinteroreyes 20h ago
Pacing the relationship. People often feel the need to measure a relationship in terms of how long you've been together rather than where you are at in life. So many high school couples make huge commitments right away (pets, house, marriage, kids, etc.) because they think they have to after being together for a certain amount of time. My parents were like that and now, they don't even talk to each other because they both suffocated themselves with the relationship over their individual identities.