For some students, college life is a four-year vacation to be enjoyed before real life begins. For married students, real life has already started and college life has taken a back seat.

“You don’t do as much,” said Joel Baskett, junior in agricultural systems. “Your priorities aren’t so much your friends’. I spend a lot more time with her than classmates or dorm friends.”

Baskett got married soon after he came to Iowa State and hasn’t had much of a chance to live the single life.

“We’ve been married a year and a half,” Baskett said. “I met her as a freshman. She was a senior. We believed in not living together first, so why wait?”

The chance to live together – with parental approval – seems to be a common reason for students to marry quickly.

“We’ve been married five and a half months,” said Megan Petersen, junior in art and design. “We knew we didn’t want to live together before getting married – our parents wouldn’t like it. It was almost to please them.”

Petersen’s husband, Jordan, agreed.

“It’s not why we got married,” said Jordan Petersen, junior in computer engineering. “It’s why we got married sooner.”

Baskett’s wife has already graduated and started an eight-to-five teaching job. For the moment, the two are living very different lives, which, they say, can put a strain on their relationship.

“My schedule is never the same as hers. Scheduling is a problem – trying to fit in everything,” Baskett said. “For me, it’s hard. I am a man. I feel like I need to bring home the money. I should be the bread winner, but she brings in the money.”

For the Petersens, who are both still in school, marriage hasn’t changed their lives as much as the Basketts’ lives have changed.

“We go out just as much,” Jordan said. “It’s the same, we are just living together.”

In many ways, marriage has actually made life easier for them.

“Before, when we were dating, we lived in the dorms and we had separate rooms. If we wanted to hang out, she had to come to my room or I had to go to hers,” Jordan said. “We don’t have to commute to each other’s room now.”

Megan feels the changes that came with marriage have been minor.

“Basically, there is not that much of a difference from dating,” Megan said. “My name is just Petersen now, and not Carter, and other legal technicalities that come with it, but it hasn’t affected our relationship.”

Baskett’s life, on the other hand, has changed drastically since he came to Iowa State. Baskett is originally from Idaho and has had to adapt to being away from his family.

“My in-laws became my family,” Baskett said. “I think, being married, you are less worried about yourself.

Establishing school relationships is hard because I’m devoted to her and I have to divide my time.

Because we are married, I feel like I lead two lives: my school life and my married life.”

Despite the difficulties of splitting his time, Baskett wouldn’t have it any other way.

“I didn’t come to school thinking I’d get married. I didn’t look to find a girlfriend. It just kind of happened. We clicked. It is nice to have someone to count on, to be a bigger part of my life than just a friend,” he said.