I met my husband where were both seniors in high school, but we went to different schools. It just so happened that we were attending the same college. We both sort of had relationships before each other, but nothing really serious. I mean, gosh, I was 17 and he was 18, how serious a relationship could you REALLY have if either has to rely on Mom and Dad to take you to your dates? (That's just my getting-old opinion)
We stayed together throughout college, though we did have periods where we'd break up, usually I broke up with him because he was being an ass and after a few weeks, we'd reconcile and be back together. During that time, yeah, we each met a bunch of new people, he met other women, I met other guys. Even though we were constantly second-guessing the relationship because we both knew that you almost never marry the first person you have a serious relationship with, our personalities just mesh so well that it is really hard to find someone else that really gets it. I'm not saying we are soulmates or anything like that, just that, by random chance, we ended up finding someone who shared a lot in common with ourselves pretty early on.
I apologize for the tangent, but you seem to have a good goal. I actually wanted to get married at 25ish. It's a great age to get married because you've had a chance to plant your feet in the world after college. I ended up getting married at 22. A bit on the young side, but it was sort of rushed along by the circumstances (his family is wackadoodle crazy-pants and threatened all kinds of things if we lived together before marriage). I also had managed to save up enough money for a down payment on a house. I worked my butt off throughout college to scrape together that money and my husband contributed too. Ack, sorry, more tangents.
So, to wrap this up... I know it's really scary to face the prospect of entering a much bigger pond where he might lose interest (and you might too) and he sounds like an awful nice guy. I was very self-conscious about myself too, felt that I just wasn't pretty enough or socially coherent enough to really deserve love. I was constantly putting myself down for things I perceived to be flaws. What you need to do is to change your thinking about yourself.
Find something about yourself that you feel good about. What are you good at? What are you interested in? And, hit those books hard. I will tell you what - nothing attracts or keeps a truly good man than a woman who has a brain. My husband and I enjoy debating topics with each other (though it is a little hard to find something that we do not agree on already) and enjoy sharing new knowledge with the other. After being with him for 8 years, we have never had a single date or time together where neither of us had nothing to say. It is SO important for you to have a life outside of him, not just for your own sake, but for the health of the relationship.
And you know what? If you are able to attract such a nice guy on your first go at it, if he turns out not to be the one, I will bet you that you will attract another guy who is just as nice, loving, and great to be around. If things do work out and you start to move together throughout college, that's great! Just make sure you are focusing on what YOUR life is going to look like and not AS much on your relationship. If you later find out that maybe he feels threatened by a woman who is possibly smarter than him, then you will know what you like in a man if you end up breaking it off.
I can't tell you with any certainty what will or won't happen with your relationship. All I can say is that you should enjoy this relationship while you have it. If you break up, then just keep those positive memories in your heart and mind and keep your head looking forward. You can't control what he does or doesn't do, but you do have the power within yourself to change your own perceptions and to carve out a future for yourself.
