I was 20... barely. He was 21. We were young, in love, and knew that we wanted to be married more than anything. We could not imagine living without each other, and wanted to tackle the world and the future together. We did not have a penny to our names, and no assets to speak of except two hearts that were overflowing with love. We had 10 years of school ahead of us, a borrowed car, and a dream of happiness that we held tightly as we walked hand in hand into our marriage ceremony on that beautiful summer day.

There were voices that we ignored in the days leading up to our wedding. The ones that told us we were making a big mistake; that we should wait on such a big decision until we were old enough to know what we were doing; that we should travel and see the world before settling down; that we should finish school first; that we should wait until we were financially secure; that we should live together first and "try it out" before making a commitment as big as marriage.