Do I do anything else but rant?

The answer, of course, is no.

Such a seemingly random subject comes not so random to me. I've been reading a fellow Honors student's-residence hall resident's-former Wind Ensemble-member's livejournal for quite some time now, and while I don't really know this girl personally, I have a few things to say about her decisions she so freely discusses in her LJ. I will refer to her as Girl X.

She hates her roommate accordingly- her roommate is hardly nice and when she is you feel like you should be on your knees thanking her for her kindness, etc.- but for some reason or another, she didn't switch rooms from this horrid roommate. No thanks, but one semester was quite enough for me. So, bitchy roommate = Girl Y. Girl X works and from what I understand has a substantial job waiting tables, and was a MAPS scholar for the university (basically, a full ride- Steph got one too, and I think JT was offered it; of course, he didn't end up going here [why he chose Alabama when he had a full ride here is beyond me!]). Girl X has come to the conclusion that she despises Montevallo because she hasn't made a lot of friends here, she hates her roommate, and she has ended up hating herself. All valid reasons, except I have to ask- a) why do you have to have friends to like college? I don't have many friends, and really, I prefer it that way. The less friends one has, the less drama. I'm not going to college for friends- I'm going to better my education and to eventually have a job that can support both myself and a family, whenever I have one. And b) why didn't she move when presented with the opportunity? Room Intent forms are there for a reason.

These aren't the main things that bug me about her, though. In one of her latest posts, she mentions she has three options- a) moving back to her hometown, going to the college there, which happens to conveniently be the college her boyfriend attends, thus losing her full ride here; b) sticking it out here, etc.; and c) getting married to her boyfriend, moving up to hometown, attending college, etc.

Whoa.

I must have missed the memo that getting married automatically makes things better. Personally speaking, I think getting married at 19 is not a smart move. Reasons? a) My grandmother married my grandfather at 19, and has always told me it was a very bad decision. He was, among other things (according to my mom and Nana, as he died when I was one), an alcoholic, an adulterer (was practically living with another woman in the last years of his life), and just a general jerk. Now, of course, this guy Girl X is dating is probably (hopefully) not like my grandfather. He's probably a nice guy. So I guess one person's experience isn't enough to completely sway someone else from getting married. Reason b, however, is one that I am quite adamant on. Joseph and I have been going out for little over two years now, and I would never, ever dream of even having an engagement ring at my age. "Thanks, but...what?" would probably be my reaction if that happened. I'm sure I would be flattered. However, I don't even know for sure if I'm going to major in history! I'm about 99.9% sure, but I haven't gotten my degree. Of course, one doesn't need a degree to get married, but I'm barely eighteen. Four more months have to pass until I'm 19, and even then, I'm still living with my mother, don't work regularly because I'm a full-time college student without even an undergrad degree, and the list goes on.

Point is, I don't really believe an eighteen-year-old, or even a nineteen-year-old is capable of making such a drastic, huge decision on the basis of "I hate the college I attend." Of course, I have days of loathing the Montevallo campus, of hating the cold, tiny dorm room I inhabit, of despising the uneven bricks that trip everybody up at some point during their 4+ years here. Sometimes when I visit Joseph I love the Alabama campus (minus all the red and white ;) ). I think it's so much more college-y than Montevallo. Sometimes I feel like an outsider on my own campus. However, I would never, ever go to Alabama purely on the basis of me wanting to be in a "comfort zone" of my boyfriend.

From her latest Facebook note:
"Speaking of ridiculous, did anybody else find themself in a tax fix? Well I havn't sent mine in yet, and it's good thing because I just found out a few days ago that I have to claim my scholarship as income. At least the room and board and books part. or something. So that brought my income up to the point that if I claimed myself as independent I could participate in the tax break. My parents however, finding themselves short a dependent, would end up owing $1000. So they're claiming me, but now I owe $200. YAY. thankfully my dad says he'll pay it, but it really sucks because before I was claiming my scholarship I was going to get back $400 and that suited me just fine. Stupid College, always ruining my life."

But, of course, the Marriage Fairy will wave her sparkly pink wand and make your life amazing! Who needs income taxes when you're married?!

I just don't understand the logic of others. I respect their personal decisions, as much as I may disagree, and I wish her the best of luck with whatever she does with her life, but I can honestly say that I would not even think of marriage until I'm at least 21. However, that's a personal decision, and some might strongly disagree with it, so what can I say?

I guess the most I can say is that marriage doesn't make things easier, especially the younger you are, as I've heard through experience (Sherrie, Nana, my own dad!). I hope Girl X realizes that getting married isn't going to automatically solve her personal problems.