Outlining the Essay -- Take 2

• I wanted to get a divorce.
• I wanted it because I wasn't happy. I got married right out of college and after I moved 2,000 miles from my entire family. I was afraid of the future and clinged onto my college boyfriend. I didn't think I would find anyone else, so I wanted to get married. Right away. What I didn't realize as a senior in college was that I still had a lot of growing up and developing to do. The person I was in college was not the person I was two years later. The real world helped me see what else was out there (in terms of friendships, relationships, work/career and life in general). I realized that my wants/needs were changing and his were not. I wasn't happy and it was because I wasn't happy being who we were in college when we weren't in college anymore.
• To get it, I had to stand my ground and follow my heart.
• However, something got in my way: My family. They didn't understand it. Maybe I didn't explain it well. Either way, they thought I was crazy and ridiculous. They thought I was throwing away a great thing. Don't get me wrong, he was a wonderful person (and still is), but he was not the person I was meant to be with and I knew it. Sadly, I didn't realize it before we got married and for that I will always feel horrible about. I wish I hadn't been in such a rush.
• I had to try something different, so I talked to my friends and saw a counselor to work through my thoughts and feelings. Having an outsider guiding me through this difficult time really helped me sort through all of the thoughts and emotions swirling through my head.
• All the time I was thinking that this isn't how I imagined my life. I was also thinking that my family would stop talking to me because well, they shelled out a lot of money for the wedding and also they probably thought I was making a big mistake that they didn't support.
• The turning point came after talking to my Granma on the phone. I remember the day like it was yesterday - I was driving down a heavily tree-lined road and it was pouring down rain. It's ironic that as rain streamed across my windshield, I was wiping tears that were rolling down my face. Don't get me wrong, my Granma didn't understand my decision or I was feeling - I remember he saying that her generation didn't do things this way and that in today's world, people just change their mind all the time and it's OK. But the turning point came when she told me that she would love me no matter what and that I was a big girl and this was my life. Her opinion is one that I regard highly and to hear her say she would still be there reassured me that those around me who love me will always love me, regardless of this kind of decision.
• When that happened, I realized that I was a grown up and I didn't need anyone's approval. I needed to follow my heart and live with the consequences. I couldn't ask my mom and dad to make the decision for me - I was the one left with whatever the outcome was. And I was finally OK with that. I had to stop living in fear of what others would think of me, no matter how unhappy I was. I finally felt like a grown up and had control of my life for the first time. 
• After that I told him that I didn't want to be married anymore. It was a difficult time, not only because it's sad to see something good break, but because I hated knowing that I was breaking his heart - and it wasn't because of anything he did or didn't do. It was me. But it was either hold it in now and take the easy way (and have it blow up years down the road), or listen to my heart and leap into my future alone. It was one of the hardest times in my life, but I learned so much about myself, my friends and my family. I sorted through what I wanted out of life and where I wanted to go. And in the process, I met my soulmate - I am now in a relationship where I am 100 percent committed and still feel like an individual with my own opinions and I feel like a grown up individual.