"I’m going to date that guy one day," Rachel Haupt said to a friend during the 2008 school talent show. She was referring to the guitarist on stage and coincidentally, her future husband.

Haupt had met Christopher Page at the talent show that night, her declaration only a joke. Shortly after, Page and Haupt began dating. He was hesitant to ask her out at first, not knowing whether or not she’d be comfortable with the long distance. Page is a member of the US Army, which can sometimes cause complications in a relationship.

After dating for about six months, he proposed to her during a Skype call on his one-year tour to Korea, the distance ruling out any sort of conventional methods. After returning to the States, his first course of action was to take Haupt ring-shopping. The wedding was held at the Haupt household on March 31, with only the couple’s close friends and family attending the ceremony.

Parents and friends were skeptical of Haupt’s engagement at first, but during a brief stay at their household after Page returned from Korea, her parents came to love him. Some of her friends still aren’t used to her marriage, but have none the less accepted it.

Page was moved to Texas shortly after the wedding, which is where Haupt plans to move to after the school year ends. However, he will be leaving for Afghanistan in December, leaving Haupt to wonder whether she will stay in Texas during his time there, or if she will come home.

Being a spouse in the military comes with more than its fair share of difficulties, distance being the main one.

Haupt and Page have spent more than twice as much time apart as they have spent together. While on tour in Korea, the thousands of miles between them was a constant weight on Haupt’s mind.

Haupt is well aware that when Page goes to Afghanistan, they may only get to talk once a week, if not less. Though the distance may complicate the communication between the couple, Haupt feels she could not ask for anything more than she already has.

Marriage serves as a wake-up call for many, and Haupt is hardly an exception. With marriage came a sense of independence, and an increased desire to take care of herself and her schoolwork on her own.

Doing well in school and making enough money have become increased priorities for Haupt, now that she has plans to move to Texas and start a career.

Major life changes like marriage bring with them a great deal of inherent responsibility, especially in a high school setting.

It’s like being thrown in to the proverbial deep-end of the pool: sink, or learn how to swim. Haupt has chosen to swim. Adjusting to the real world may come faster for her than it will for some.

"But now I know that I’ll always have someone there to have my back, someone there to support me," Haupt said.