I’ve debated whether or not to tell this story because it’s not one I’m particularly proud of. Buuuut it’s something I need to get off my chest. So here I am. Screaming into the internet void instead of talking to a therapist about it.
A camp friend of mine, let’s call her Trish, got engaged to her high school sweetheart, Evan, a couple months into our freshman year of college. She quickly found that planning a wedding and taking a full course load was too difficult, and she ended up taking a leave of absence for the remainder of the semester and instead picked up shifts at her former high school waitressing gig. I liked Evan well enough, but I found Trish’s decision to put her future on hold in order to plan a one-day event perplexing and concerning. I tried talking to her about it during one of our weekly Skype dates, but she always shut down the discussion, saying she loved him and this was a small sacrifice to make for their dream wedding. Worried about driving her away or isolating her further into the relationship if I kept pushing the issue, I just dropped it.