I got married after my freshman year of college. It's worked great for us - but I don't advise it! I tried going back to Wash U. after we got married and my honey was stationed at Camp Pendelton. I was on a full scholarship and didn't want to give it up, but wanted to get married. I dropped out of Wash U that December; it was just too hard to be separated once we were married. I took a semester off and transferred into UC - Irvine. I worked retail and then taught swimming. Retail sucked! But I was a lot more serious about my education when I had to start paying for it when I went to UCI. Yeah, it was loans, but those grades became a lot more important when it was OUR money.

I grew up poor and wanted the house in the suburbs - picket fence optional. But once you settle down and have obligations, you lose some options. I didn't really think about when I was 19, not sure I was capable of thinking about it. I'm not sure what I would tell my 19 year old self.

I know my gap time convinced me I did not want be"stuck" working retail and I definitely wanted my degree.

Veronica