I recently got married and I'm 24. Many today consider this marrying young, though I'm not so sure. In any case, I was just discussing this phenomenon with a good friend who is very liberal. She does want to get married and settle down eventually. She enjoys being on her own right now, though she expressed concerns about ever being able to find someone when she does want to. She is busy and particular. As a result there is little room in her life for a relationship.

I think that is the biggest obstacle people create for themselve by focusing on education and career before even considering marriage. I've already learned after being married for only 2 months that it's all about flexibility and putting someone else's needs before your own. This is a difficult task at any stage of maturity for most people. The longer a person lives their life without having to constantly accomodate another person, I think the harder it would be to learn how.

All that being said, it happens when it happens and people can make it work no matter what approach they take.

11/13, but I've never taken chemistry (not even in high school) and I drank my way through my poli sci degree. As I've long thought, I am not the smartest person here. 

Currently working on a paper about whether Prop 8 violates the equal protection clause. Regardless of what side you are on as a policy matter, the 9th circuits ruling is pretty ridiculous and intellectually dishonest. But most of our Constitutional jurisprudence is, so who knows how the SCOTUS will rule.

On another note: I've always thought the answer to the childless hetero-couples to be a little different than those given above. To reference Jurassic Park, life finds a way. Regardless of if a couple wants kids, or thinks they are unable, heterosexual relations always carry a risk of conception. To me this is what separates the two. The consequences of sex for straight couples are much greater and therefore justify the state interest. And it is why I don't believe that gay and straight couples are similarly situated. Personally, I have no objection to gay marriage, but the arguments against have some validity and it is not the place of the SCOTUS to decide. 

I agree with all the previous comments. But fiction can really do the best job reaching a wide audience. People love stories. They reach deeper truths. C.S. Lewis' Mere Christianity explained everything to me well and is the bedrock of my worldview, but The Great Divorce is where he really illustrates how sin truly works and puts an end to any positive thoughts one might have about moral relativism. Also, Christopher Hitchens had a huge influence on me, (specifically Letters to a Young Contrarian). So many things he had to say I agreed with, and so many I disagreed with. He was an excellent source for grappling with contradictions and the other side. 

I will be at high school speech tournaments all day every Saturday until...April. My schedule is insane right now but I could really use a meet-up. Have had some pretty frustrating experiences that would give Jonah Goldberg a stroke. 

My life is about as busy as it could get right now, but if I have a spare moment I will try and stop by if you guys end up planning a meet-up. The last one was fun!

I'll be there. Also curious about how to figure out who everyone is once I get there. I'm a blonde woman over 6 feet tall so I shouldn't be too hard to recognize. If you see someone meeting that description standing around looking lost please flag me down.

I'm in St. Paul right by William Mitchell. 

I'm in, though I can't promise that I will have anything interesting to say. My brain will be thoroughly liquified by studying for finals.

I was planning on coming up with a write-in candidate up until last week when I realized that my vote might actually matter. Here's hoping!

Disclaimer: This comment is not really in response to anything directly, more just my own personal grammar pet peeve.

Popular usage is a funny and often regional thing. I've lived in Minnesota all my life and have managed to grasp the difference between "lend" and "borrow". However, even my own mother will ask me to "borrow her a book." I cringe. My standard rule is to refuse all such requests on the grounds that it is impossible to borrow someone an item. I may choose to lend a great many things to anyone. You may borrow things from me. According to my out-of-state friends, this is only a problem in Minnesota and surrounding states. This information only makes me cringe further. My inner child wants the rest of the country to suffer with me. Someone on either coast please tell me this happens to you too!