Sorry to take so long to get to this story, but I thought it was fantastic!
The characterisation at the start was perfect. Carrie came over as a giddy-headed girl in love, and that is really what she was. The ups and downs in her emotional state came over crystal clear, and, as TL said, it's a great interpretation of the theme.
Given how late I'm posting this, and the lack of comments above, all I can do is guess that a lot of readers thought it was going to be a story about a girl and stopped reading. If so, they've missed a great story and I thoroughly recommend that they go back and try again.
Well done, Altmexis!