My SO and I met as teenagers. He’s a year older. I wanted to move across the country with him once he graduated so my parents let me drop out a year before graduating and we got married. He was 18 and I was 17. And then we moved away. That was several years ago now, but I feel cheated. Not that I’m unhappy with how life is now, I have a handsome little boy and we’re doing well. But I feel like my parents cheated me by not enforcing basic things like making me go to school, making me stay home and not letting me live with him at 16 and 17. Like how could you let me do that? Obviously I wasn’t mature enough to make that decision at the time. I would never in a thousand years let my child do that. I should have graduated high school, maybe even went to college. But I did none of that. I have always wished I could have had a real wedding with beautiful photos. I have a few that a friend snapped but they’re terrible and I have never even printed them out. We were broke so our wedding was cheap and tacky. Not even remotely a dream wedding. It’s embarrassing to tell people I got married at 17. I love my husband and we’re happy but I resent my parents for not doing their job. My friends from school all have degrees, good jobs. And I’ve done nothing with my life but become a mom.

ETA I did get my GED. I guess as a parent I just tend to side with stricter parenting methods/beliefs so I just can’t believe my parents were so lax. I know 16 year olds know what the best path is but I can definitely say I didn’t truly understand how my choices could/would impact my life. I was in love, with clouded judgement, and didn’t understand. If I didn’t have PCOS I definitely would have been pregnant at 17 also. I knew better but I just resent the fact that I didn’t have parental guidance from 13 ish on. My parents are divorced and were too busy trying to date and get married.