Marriage isn't for the weak of heart

I have a friend who is thinking about marriage and I'm a bit concerned about his decision.
Here's the thing, my friend is dating a young woman, who he has a child with, and the marriage seems to be prompted more so for the sake of his son.

Now a lot of people might think that this young man is doing the honorable thing by marrying this young woman, and who knows, he might be. I mean, who am I to judge. But my point with this all is, marriage is hard. it's very difficult and it should not be taken lightly.

I have been married now for nearly five years and I've experience more in these past few years than I have in my entire life. There have been ups and downs - we have suffered the death of a child, and celebrated the birth of another one. We've had our share of fights and making up - our marriage runs the gamut of emotions and outcomes. It's living life fluidly, with someone else.

But here's what I think a lot of couples (I know we didn't), did not consider when they got married. We don't consider that marriage is a state of being isn't just a title or a way of life, it is life and that life is 24-7.

When you're married you can't take off your ring and magically be single again. You also can't effectively make decisions without your spouse. In a sense you're effectively stripping away your individual identity and you're becoming one with that person.

Your whole life changes and not everyday is going to be a fun filled adventure. You're going to see your spouse at their lowest, their worst. It's all in how you handle those times, that will determine if you have a successful marriage or not.