These days, it doesn’t matter which social media account I go on; there are babies and rings everywhere. Boyfriends are proposing left and right, and my friends post a picture of a nicely manicured left hand with a fabulous ring sparkling. I’ve seen all kinds of rings. Some were very pretty, and then there were some that were … well, rather ugly. As long as she likes it, I guess it doesn’t matter.

Everyone’s in love, and people are beginning a new chapter in their life. And then there are people that are pregnant and every single one of their posts have something to do with babies. I’d say I learned a lot more about pregnancy and babies through Facebook and Instagram compared to whatever I learned in school. Your kids are cute, I guess, but I’ve never been that girl that gets all giddy around babies and children.

I have to say, though, that it’s really weird seeing everyone moving onto a part of life I won’t encounter for a long time. Here I am, attending my last semester of undergrad and very boyfriend-less at the moment, while a lot of my friends are getting married or announcing their newborn’s every move. Currently, I mainly worry about what my first semester at graduate school will be like and if I can make it to class on time the next day. At the same time, a friend of mine is worrying about his/her upcoming wedding or about her baby. Odd, isn't it?

The ages of these friends range from 19 to 29. Most of the people from age 25 to 29 are those that I know through church, and it was interesting to see my Sunday school teachers getting married to each other and having their kids baptized. I mean, these Sunday school teachers taught my Sunday classes when they were in college, and now they have a whole family and are very happy. So it’s cool to see how it all progressed, especially since I still see them as my Sunday school teachers. And then there are my friends that I went to high school with, and they’re suddenly parents, too! It’s very strange to think that some of these babies were born in the same year and might go to school together, yet their parents are not from the same generation.

Part of me wonders, however, about my classmates from high school. I remember going back home my first winter break from college, and hearing about the first people from my high school class of 2013 that became parents at age 18 or 19. You could imagine the shock that I felt from hearing the news. For goodness sake, I just came back from my first semester of college! It makes me wonder if they really were ready for all this — living the marriage life, motherhood and fatherhood — and if they weren’t, how are they coping? I know I am definitely not prepared to fall in love and say yes to the man on his knee, and then one day have a child together. I’m still in a stage in my life where I need to grow individually, and, of course, stressing my brain out to get a degree and a professional job. That’s the crazier part: these new mothers and fathers are not only raising a baby, they’re in college too! And I complain about how I don’t have enough time to study, sleep, shower, eat and have fun! That's the love of a parent and a couple, I guess.

So what I want to say is, whether you're 30 or 20, I respect the hard work you're putting into your blooming family. Because I wouldn't have the courage to deal with feeding a husband/wife and child. I can barely get three meals a day into my own stomach! The fact you're managing all this, what with all the other work you might have, is amazing. Keep up the work, because all of that blood, sweat and tears will be worth it when you hear your spouse and child say, "Thank you."