I Love You, But We Met Way Too Young

I love you with all my heart. In fact, I can’t picture my life without you and I don’t actually want to. Since the day we met, I’ve known that you were someone special and would leave an indelible mark on my heart. When I say, “I love you,” I do truly mean that, but that still doesn’t mean I’m ready to settle down — here’s why:

  1. I don’t want such a big responsibility right now. Age might be just a number, but it’s a number I’m not going to take for granted. I’ll only be young once, and I want to experience life while I still have my youth. I just want to be me, without too many adult responsibilities to drag me down. If that sounds selfish, it’s because I know I won’t be able to be one day, so I’ve got to put me first for now.
  2. I’m not ready to start a family. For me, kids are a long way off, and settling down says, “Let’s start popping out babies.” I don’t want to give you false hope here. I’m not ready for kids, and I won’t be for quite some time. I want a couple little wonders some day, but not yet. I want to be 100% sure that I’ve accomplished everything I want to in life before I have kids so that I can make them my number one priority without resenting them.
  3. I want to marry you someday… just not today. I really do, and I think that’s something worth looking forward to. For now, I’m happy enjoying our relationship as boyfriend and girlfriend and enjoying the perks of just dating each other. I’m not saying that marriage won’t be wonderful; I’m just saying that it’s a different adventure, and I’m still enjoying the journey. We’ll get there — you just have to be patient.
  4. I don’t want to rush into anything. Life might be short, but I’m not going to rush any part of it. I want to take this time to just be together as boyfriend and girlfriend. We have the rest of our lives to be married, so what’s the rush? I’m in no hurry. I need us to make sure we’re ready before we take the plunge.
  5. I want to live together first. Before we take that big leap down the aisle, I want us to experience just living together. I want to know what it’s like to wake up next to you every morning and come home to you every night. Living together is a huge test, so let’s make sure we know what we’re getting ourselves into before it’s too late and we’re already Mr. and Mrs.
  6. I’ve lost loves before. I’ve been in love before and I even thought I was going to marry the guy, but guess what? It didn’t work out. Sometimes love isn’t enough. Sometimes love doesn’t last. I take marriage seriously. It’s a huge commitment and I’m only willing to make it once in my life, so let’s make sure that once will be enough for us.
  7. I want us to be 100% sure that this is for keeps. I know you love me, but are you fully confident you’ll love me forever? You might think you will, you might want to love me forever, but do you know you will? I know I can’t expect you to know what the future holds, but I am expecting you to be confident in your love for me. Until we’re sure that we’re ready to go the distance, let’s wait before taking things further.
  8. I’ve got other priorities in my life right now. I’m not saying you’re not a priority, but you’re not my only priority. I want to marry you, have kids and be together forever, but I’m just not ready for that right now. I’m still establishing my career. I’m still working on building our foundation — a foundation that will serve us well when we do finally decide to take things to the next level.
  9. There really is no rush. If we’re going to be together for the rest of our lives, we have plenty of time to walk down the aisle and start a family. I look forward to that every day, but I don’t want to miss the smaller milestones we’ll experience along the way before we get there.
Kelsey Dykstra is a freelance writer based in Huntington Beach, CA. She has a bachelor’s degree in Creative Writing from Grand Valley State University and been writing professionally since graduating in 2013. In addition to writing about love and relationships for Bolde and lifestyle topics for Love to Know, she also writes about payment security and small business solutions for PaymentCloud.

Originally from Michigan, this warm weather seeker relocated to the OC just last summer. Kelsey enjoys writing her own fictional pieces, reading a variety of young adult novels, binging on Netflix, and of course soaking up the sun.

You can find more about Kelsey on her LinkedIn profile or on Twitter @dykstrakelsey.
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