I think we all have at least a basic understanding of “The Bachelor” in that it’s a show in which people are expected to meet each other, fall in love, and get engaged all in the span of a few short months. Seems crazy right? But these people are adults (in the sense that they’ve graduated college and have spent some time in “the real world”), so we, as a society, buy into the idea. But what about all these people getting engaged in college? Are they too naïve and just rushing blindly into commitment? Or just very much in love?

People are very divided on this subject, but there’s not a clear line on how young is “too young”. Over time, the average age of marriage and engagement has been getting higher and higher. It’s not uncommon nowadays to meet couples who are entering their first marriages well into their thirties. My great grandparents recently celebrated their 75th wedding anniversary. They were 20 and 22 when they got married and were well into their 90’s when they celebrated this anniversary. Celebrations like these are increasingly rare as the age of marriage gets older and the number of divorces rise. Is there a correlation between age of marriage and rate of divorce? Or is society just devaluing marriage as a whole? 

I think another reason people are so divided on the age of engagement, especially here at Clemson, is the differences between northern and southern cultures. Clemson, although located in the very southern state of South Carolina, has a multitude of students from the northeast, with an unusually high amount coming from New Jersey and Massachusetts. It is no secret that the cultures of the north and those of the south are very distinct and differ from each other in many ways. One of those ways is the typical age of engagement. My sister went to a very southern school in Birmingham, Alabama, and she had many friends get engaged as early as their sophomore year in college.  I am from a southern state, and I do not find it weird that people are getting engaged in their early twenties or even their late teens. When you know, you know. I have friends, however, that are from the northeast and won’t even consider getting engaged until their late twenties. 

Overall, I think that engagements and relationships in general are very personal to those who are involved and there’s no way for anyone outside of the relationship to really make a judgement call. If you and your partner agree that you’re ready for the next step, that’s totally up to you! Age is just a number, after all. 
I hope you enjoyed this op-ed. If you agree or disagree with me on this topic and would like to contact me to share your own opinion, or if you would like to request any future topics for me to write about, please do so at [email protected]