> I am only 13, and am going to start High School next year. However, I am (and have been for all of middle school) in an advanced placement program, and hve always cosidered myself more mature than "most" children my age.

["Skip a bit, brother."]

> Well, because of this, I sort of feel like an adult trapped in a kid's body. Most people I meet don't think of 13-year-olds as equals (especially males). There are several reasons why this is the pits.
>
> For instance, I feel completely confident that, provided I had the money to start, I could get a job and live on my own. Of course, this is not expected until one is at least 18.
>

It's been said that the way you know you're "ready" for marriage is ... you don't. People get married because they THINK they're ready, then realize it's all something completely different from what they expected.

> Also, any relationship can't be carried on for long. It is often looked down upon, or thought of as just "puppy love." Marriage is completely out of the question, or even anything past a "peck" on the cheek. Even if you are sure somebody is "the one."
>

People who look for "the one," under my observance, either marry each other whether they're actually compatable or not or they scare off all prospects just by "looking for the one." Marriage is the single most intimate and solemn relationship afforded between humans. But it's approach shouldn't consume a single person's life, nor should "preliminaries" like dating and cross-gender friendships. There's life without it.

> Oer"just needed to get it off my chest"as

Admittedly single and therefore no expert on marriage,

Penny"Yo-ho-ho, and a bottle of rum!"stamp

P.S. You have no idea how much freedom exists in the sheltered environment of childhood. Love it!