Zoey Rosenblatt is not your average Health Academy senior. She wears a ring on her finger and counts down the days until Sept. 22. While most of her classmates worry about finding a prom dress, she worries about finding a wedding dress. That’s because Rosenblatt is among the small but growing population of Americans who are getting engaged in her teens.

Rosenblatt became engaged to her fiancé, Luis Alvan, earlier this month. They have been dating since last summer and are looking forward to starting a new life together.  Alvan is a Marine, and the couple will be married when he returns from his deployment this August.

Their relationship started the way many modern couples’ stories begin: over social media. Alvan first contacted Rosenblatt on Instagram when she was a freshman. He contacted her again when she was a junior; Rosenblatt reciprocated, and a romance was kindled.

“I gave him a chance over the summer and he came in from North Carolina because that’s where he was stationed,” said Rosenblatt. “That’s when we started going out. I knew he was the one when I realized that I didn’t want to live my life without him. ”  

On Feb. 4, just weeks before his deployment to Japan, Alvan finally popped the question. They had just spent the day together, going out for sushi and dancing before Alvan took her home. Rosenblatt said that while she was surprised, she had no doubt that she wanted to marry him.

“We got home and he started lighting candles and I didn’t think anything of it until he was on one knee,” said Rosenblatt. “I [thought] ‘What are you doing?’ He [said], ‘I want to spend the rest of my life with you.’ I was like, ‘Yes.’”

After their wedding in September– the couple is still debating between a beach or lake wedding– Rosenblatt will move to North Carolina, where she will live at the Marine base as a military spouse. She plans to study at Carolina Coastal Community College, with the eventual goal of becoming a pediatric nurse. Her fiancé, she said, aspires to become a civil engineer.

In spite of the constant judgement she is subjected to, Rosenblatt stands firm by her decision. She feels lucky to have the support of her family as she takes her next step into adult life.

“Other kids are still trying to figure out what they want, and I already know what I want,” she said. “Don’t base your decisions off of what other people are going to think of you. Just do what you think is best for you.”