Interview With ME!

I know, I know...I just posted a set of interviews last week, but as I was reading over some of the answers people gave in their interviews this past weekend, I thought it'd be fun to interview me and Ryan for this blog. Ha...I know it probably seems a little goofy...conducting an interview with myself, but I thought it'd be a fun way for people to get to know me a little better...and I especially thought it'd be a fun way for people to get to know my husband better. I've been trying to bring my husband's voice to this blog for quite some time (I've tried getting him to write his own posts a couple of times, but he refuses), and he said he'd be willing to do this, so I figured I'd better jump on the opportunity. Tomorrow, you will get Ryan's interview. Today, you're stuck with mine (hehehe). Be prepared to hear some familiar questions, as I made slight variations to the questions I asked in my interviews with an engaged female and male for this interview.

1. When was your wedding day and how old were you on that day?
Saturday, August 27th, 2005. I was 22.

2. Growing up, did you expect that you would marry young as you have?
Noooo. I didn't have a boyfriend until I started dating Ryan at the end of my sophomore year in college, so growing up, I figured I wouldn't get married until I was at least in my mid-to-late twenties. My circle of friends predicted that I would be the last of the group to be married and also the last one of my sisters to be married (there are four of us). I showed them, though! I was the first of both my group of friends and my sisters to be married. :)

3. Did you anticipate that there would be both pros and cons to marrying young? If so, what are some examples of those pros and cons?
Ha. I didn't realize how funny this question really was when I wrote it -- "Did you anticipate that there would be both pros and cons to marrying young?" Of course I did! Who wouldn't? I'll save the best for last and start out with a couple cons:

Con #1. For me, being young and married means going to school while married. This has especially been a big challenge for me since I tend to go a little crazy with schoolwork and put way more work into assignments than I need to. School takes up a lot of my time, and I knew that it would conflict with the time I would be needing to spend with my husband.

Con #2. Being young, Ryan and I aren't exactly "established" in life -- we don't have well-paying full-time jobs, we don't have a lot of money saved up, we don't have decent cars... Basically, we don't have a lot of things that we would've likely had if we'd chosen to marry later in life. This lack of stability can be pretty frustrating sometimes.

Now it's time for a couple pros!

Pro #1. I actually consider Con #2 to also be a pro. Although it can be discouraging and frustrating, I think that getting married before we've really had a chance to "get goin'" in our adult lives has really brought us closer as a couple. Going through difficult times and challenges together has actually been really good for our relationship.

Pro #2. Being married while we're young allows us to have all the more years together...all the more experiences together...all the more kisses...all the more fun. :)

4. What part of marriage were you most looking forward to?
I was looking forward to having a best friend to go through life with.

5. What's one of your favorite things about being married?
Having a constant companion. Ahhh. It feels so good just to have someone who will always be there, and even when he's not (when he's at work or somewhere else), to know that he'll be back by my side soon.

6. Have you experienced anything in married life that you weren't expecting? If so, what is that?
Hum, hum, hummmm....Haha. I wrote about this just last week: I wasn't expecting Ryan to be such a slob!!! Nooo...I'm being kinda mean, aren't I? Seriously, Ryan isn't that messy -- I just expected him to be...cleaner. ;)

I also didn't expect that my love would increase for him so much...I just keep loving the guy more and more every day.

7. You and your husband both have very busy schedules. Did you anticipate that this would cause any strain on your new marriage? Has it caused strain on your marriage?

Haha. I'm addressing myself in this question. Yeah, it's pretty dorky, but I couldn't think of any other way to rephrase it!

Yeah. Ryan works a lot of 12-hour shifts and frequently has training on his days off, and I'm taking 18 upper level credits and am working part-time, so we've both got a lot on our plates right now. And yep -- you bet I anticipated that it would cause strain. It's kind of a tough deal, because I've heard it said so often that the first year of marriage is so important, and there are some stretches of time (like right now...finals are comin' up) where Ryan and I are both so busy, we hardly even feel like we're married.

*Sigh* It's tough stuff, but we're tough cookies, and we're getting through it.

8. Do you have friends who are also young and newly-married or engaged? If so, does their company encourage you in any way?

Yessss. I have all of the lovely women who visit this blog! I've also got friends like Linds who are young and newly-married, and engaged friends like my little sister and friend, Sarah. And YES. Their company encourages me BIG TIME. Not a whole lot of people marry very young these days, and it can be kind of a lonely spot to be in (if that makes sense). It's encouraging just to know there are others out there who are going through similar experiences as I am (especially the hard ones), and it's even more encouraging to be able to talk with them about those experiences.

*Sigh* I don't know what I'd do without you guys. :)