Dear Marylou,

How did you feel getting married at 16? Were you afraid? Excited for the adventure? I just left my home in upstate New York to move to the city. I'm excited for the adventure of a new place, of finding my independence, of meeting new people. But it's also scary doing it alone. I know some people in the city, but it's not the same as being married to someone. I feel like I'm not ready to be married. Why did you get married so young? Were you swept up by young love? Did you just want to get away? A combination of the two? It's nice to be able to depend on someone I guess, but Dean seems exhausting...plus the tradeoff of having someone to depend on is being tied down. If you had to do it all over again, would you make the same choices? I'm just wondering because I'm still so young, and I don't know how to feel about these things. My mom and dad would prefer I get married and have kids, because that's what proper girls do, but I still want to live life and have adventures!