Good subject.

I got engaged when I was very young, to the first guy I'd ever dated (though we'd broken up for about a year at one point and I dated one or two other people. Point being, I didn't have much dating experience.) I know that had we actually gotten married, the marriage would have worked. We knew each other our whole lives and, as the person I was then, it would have been okay.

Well, that engagement didn't last, and I went out and dated... a lot. In the 5 years between then and now... I've become a vastly different person for my experiences. I've learned what I prefer or don't prefer... and a lot of the qualities he had were in the "don't prefer" category. They didn't bother me when I didn't know any better, but once I opened my eyes I couldn't go back.

Now I'm getting married to a man who has all of the qualities in the "prefer" column and I can't imagine life any other way.

Moral of the story? Unfortunately, you can't know. Had I married Mike I would have been happy as could be... because I was naive about what else there could be. Now that I'm more mature and more "experienced"... I think I have a good grasp on what a good relationship is for me. Will that change over the years? Probably... as we both continue to mature. But the important thing is that if/when you choose to be with somebody permanently, that you ready yourselves to live and work through those changes together.

err... sorry for the life story. I've been thinking about this lately.