Katie Couric's Notebook: Marrying Young
Hi, everyone.
Video: Should a girl go from picking out a prom dress...to picking a wedding dress?
More of them are. According to one poll, 84% of those between the ages of 17 and 23 say that they either support…or are, themselves, seriously considering…getting married young.
And they aren't just TALKING about it.
One Washington think-tank found that the number of married teenagers in the U.S. surged by almost 50% during the 1990's…leading to more divorce, more school drop-outs, and more domestic violence.
Experts say a renewed sense of cultural conservatism is behind some of these young marriages, with young people wanting more traditional lives than their rebellious baby boomer parents.
Everyone needs to make their own choices. But marriage is a BIG decision. You really need to know YOURSELF before you can be a good partner.
It's hard enough to fill that role when you're 47 -- let alone when you're 17.
That's a page from my notebook.
The secrets of tennis legend 
I married at the age of 20; my husband was 19. We are celebrating our 15th anniversary next month. We were both in college, and highly motivated to graduate--which we did 2 years later. It has not been easy to get where we are and to stay happily married. It requires hard work and commitment. Marriage is not easy, but I have found that I am a much better person because of my husband. You should not get married just for the sake of being married, but because you find the one person who completes you.
A huge number of my peers are married or engaged....somewhere I can't even begin to imagine myself. I feel as if I have a lot more school and things to experience before I settle down!!