Part of me wants to think so; I’m making a lot more money than they did at my age, even accounting for inflation. Aside from my car note, I’m debt-free. All objectively good things.

They had each other though. I’m a few years older than they were when they had their first kid, and they’d been married for a few years before that. I’m alone, and after I had some bad experiences, I don’t bother with dating. Whether that’s “better” than what my parents did or not, I don’t think it’s fair for me to decide.