Last year, at 19 years old, I got married. 

When most people hear this, they come up with judgments about who I am.

They assume I am either in some sort of religious cult, will get divorced early on, am pregnant or just downright crazy. None of those things are true.

I am married to the love of my life, while I have peers who have never been in a steady relationship. 

There is nothing wrong with being on either side of this broad relationship spectrum, but no one really talks about what life is like for those of us who have taken the next step in our lives with our partners while still in college. 

A lot of people look at college as the most exciting time of their lives.

People also tend to view the seasons of engagement and marriage as some of the happiest moments in life. But for some reason, when these seasons overlap, judgment floods in, and people get skeptical. 

There is a connotation around being married that you have to be fully grown up and mature and that by getting married, you are sacrificing your personal life or in other words — fun. 

In my seven months of marriage, I just haven’t found that this is the case.

While going out and partying isn’t my cup of tea, being married hasn’t really impacted my social life. 

If I want to go out with my friends, study with classmates or just spend time with someone other than my spouse, I still do, just like I did before.

While there are unique challenges presented to people like myself — who chose to get married in college — age doesn’t legitimize marriage. 

There is no perfect age for love. As for marriage, if a person is old enough to live on their own and go to college, they should also be old enough to be married if the opportunity presents itself.

It can be easy to look at others and judge what they are doing with their lives, especially if their story doesn’t fit into the typical mold. 

Just because it may not seem possible for someone who is 19 or 20 to be ready for that kind of commitment doesn’t mean that everyone else is the same way.

We need to stop looking at people who are married, or are about to be, so negatively. 

Everyone has different views on marriage, some people refuse to be married, while others can’t wait to be a husband or a wife. 

For my spouse and I, we were lucky enough to each have great examples of successful marriages in our lives. 

My grandparents who got married in the 1960s were roughly the same age as I am when they were married. They are still happily married over 50 years later. 

Marriage is a beautiful thing, no matter your age. 

To anyone who is in a happy relationship and considering taking the next step, is engaged and planning a wedding while in college — one of the most stressful things to do — or is like me and newly married: just know that it all works out.

Sure, some young marriages fail, but not everyone who wears a wedding ring and a graduation gown in the same season of life is crazy. We shouldn’t judge people for who they love, and we also shouldn’t judge people by what their love life looks like — whether it’s a first date or first wedding anniversary.