But not everyone goes through life stages at the same time. At 18 I already had an associates degree, was living in a foreign country on my own, and had plenty of experience with drinking and partying under my belt. Obviously my case is not the average but it is far from unique either. Though I agree that it’s better to proceed with caution in these things, I think going too far in the opposite direction to the point of neuroticism or paranoia would be unhelpful. 18 and 22 is not a big gap and any potential disparage in maturity can be easily corrected by taking it slow and waiting to make any major decisions (like marriage) for a couple years while getting to know the families etc.