It seems divorce is becoming increasingly popular in the United States. With the success of a marriage rate at a staggering 50%, divorce is becoming more common than marriage itself. A lot of overwhelming responsibilities come with marriage that put stress on two people. What’s shocking is that an old tradition of getting married in youth is becoming increasingly popular.

Americans are always in a rush. Rushing to work, rushing to grow up, and rushing to get to a certain place. Now, most teenagers and young adults are rushing into marriage. It’s hard to comprehend devoting your life to someone when you haven’t even finished college or experienced the world. In short, how do people get married when they don’t even know about themselves? College is a time to live on your own and learn about yourself, yet some college students are only focused on when they’ll be seeing a ring and planning a lavish wedding.

Money causes stress on all marriages. If two working adults are unable to keep their marriage together because of financial issues, how are college students expected to buy a house together? Realistically, it’s nearly impossible to get married as a college student and be able to support yourself without having a full time job. When you can barely afford to live apart from your parents, it won’t be any easier once you have someone else to support.

Yes, some couples may be madly in love, but the “honeymoon” stage doesn’t last forever. During the infatuation stage, the chemicals dopamine and norepinephrine are released in the brain. These chemicals cause a person to experience love sick feelings: for example, having butterflies in their stomach, being unable to sleep, and daydreaming frequently. Couples in the infatuation stage are pretty much experiencing a high where they truly believe that happily ever after is in their future. For some young couples, it will be a happily ever after- it’s happened before, and it isn’t impossible, but the divorce odds are definitely against them. Once the high wears off, they’ll realize the reality that all marriage couples are faced with: compromise, responsibility, and commitment.