I have a friend who had parents who behaved so badly in their marriage that it has turned her off it. Yet she lives with her 2 kids and her common-law spouse just fine.
My spouse and I creep up on almost 20 years together. We met when I was 18 and I'm 36 now. I cannot imagine life without him -- and it is interesting to look at a relationship in terms of years. That was a good year... that was an ok year, that was a rough year. Life throws things at you and you ride it out as a couple.
But I remember I was anxious when I married him because of the way our society is. I was worried about losing my individual identity to that of the couple. Or that I'd be pushed to his shadow -- "the little mrs." or something.
I got over it when I realized "Wait a minute here... WE decide how we want our relationship to be. Not other people." I also realized that the name of my internal newspaper is still "Astrophe" -- all the life events including marraige are the stories within. But the me I am is still the me I am and the name on the masthead!
If you do not want to be married right now, don't sweat it. If you do, go with it. Only you can answer if this is the right time, right reason, right person. Your reason(s) do NOT have to be the same as other people's and what makes is "right" is you deciding it is.
The right time/person for YOU.
GL!
A.