Just think about it: you're sitting in class and you see that hot guy from Biology 101 walking his adorable lab puppy across campus. You're now picturing your future, not with him, but with a dog.

Imagine someone to always talk to, a walking buddy, someone to come home to after a night out, and bonus, they'll never ghost you without any explanation like that frat boy did last week.

When I decided to become a dog mom, so many people wanted to give their opinion on why I should or shouldn't do it. I was ready for an adventure and I knew that no one in their right mind would stop me. I was stressed out, missing my family who lived in Louisiana, and I just needed a forever friend to keep me company at night and binge watch Grey's Anatomy with.

I spent night after night searching the internet for the right pup. I was so discouraged because I wasn't finding the kind of fur child I wanted to call my own.

Then, out of the blue, I was tagged in a post on facebook about a group of puppies that were looking for a forever home. Let me tell you this, Charlie was the size of a literal beanie baby. I was in shock that I was finally a mom — dog mom that is.

I had never been more thankful for a puppy in my entire life. He was the best thing I never knew I needed at that point in time. He came with a towel for a blanket, a small bag of food, and some flour to keep his bum clean since he was so little and fuzzy.

I won't say raising this punk was easy, but I will say it was the biggest life lesson I have ever had to learn.

I wasn't just responsible for myself. I couldn't just sleep in on a snow day or stay inside all day when I didn't want to leave my couch. I was responsible for this two-pound life that didn't know how to go to the bathroom outside, feed himself, or jump into bed with me at the end of a long day.

I had to think about my purchases because I knew he had a vet appointment coming up. I was all he had and he was all I had. It was Charlie and me against the world and that was just what I needed.

Gone were the days of going out to the frats, because I knew I'd rather be home with my main man watch Netflix. I would count the minutes in class just wanting to be home so I could take him on a walk.

There were days I came home to a mess, toilet paper torn up all over my apartment, the food dish thrown across the room, and potty on almost every surface except for his potty pad, but I loved him.

He sat by my side while I wrote my TEAM lesson plans, and he was there when I came home exhausted after a long day of student teaching. He was my home.

So no matter what anyone says, we all realize that a dog is more than a phase. You're with them for their entire lives.

If being a dog mom while in college has taught me anything, it's that love is simple, friends and boys will come and go, but nothing will ever beat the love a dog can bring into your life.

You may only have a dog for a small time of your life, but they have you for the entirety of theirs.