Child Brides

My sister-in-law happened to mention in passing today that a girl in her seminary had just gotten engaged. I remember from my days at the same school that over the course of the year, from Sukkot through Pesach, 3 girls had gotten engaged and left school. I only have one question. Why would they do that? What were they thinking?

Let us first establish that I am a big fan of the institution of marriage. That said, however, I'm still not sure what possesses young, 18 year old girls, to rush to tie the knot. To make things simpler, let's disregard those girls who rush to get married the minute they step off the plane, or even those 18 year old brides who stayed home the year after high school. Let's narrow the focus of my question down to those 'seminary girls' who decide to get engaged during their seminary year.

These girls are living on their own for the first time. True, they have newfound responsibilities. They must shop for groceries, make dinner, make sure their apartment is clean. But they don't have to worry about paying the rent. They don't have to concern themselves with paying bills and making ends meet. They are able to spend an entire year, focusing on themselves, their goals and aspirations for the future, and just plain chilling out. They are able to think about who they are and what they want, and enjoy the freedom that comes with almost-adulthood. But they choose not to. Instead, they choose to give up that one transitional year and barrel, full on, into adulthood. And not just any kind of adulthood. Forget junior high, forget even freshman year, these girls catapult themselves directly into sophomore adulthood. So why? What's the rush? What is it in human nature that generates this constant impatience for the next stage in life? Or, in this case, the stage 3 steps ahead?