As I was scrolling through Facebook this past week while attempting to avoid studying for final exams at all costs...I came across one article that caught my eye. As you can clearly see above, the article is titled, "You Shouldn't Be In a Serious Relationship In College." As soon as I clicked it, I completely disagreed with everything that this author said. Here's why...

"Even if you want to, don't get into a relationship in college."

This is the very first line in this article and it makes absolutely no sense to me. If you don't want to get into a relationship in college, then fine! There's absolutely nothing wrong with that...But if you want to get into a relationship, why would you go against what you really want and not do it? You could be turning away something great just because of the fact that you are in college. I just don't understand why anyone would ever say this.

A few lines down from that the author states,

"Even if you don't think so, it will always bring you down."

Okay, now I really don't agree with this extremely negative comment. I began dating my current boyfriend when I was 17-years-old and we are still together to this day. That means that he has been right there next to me throughout my entire college experience. He was there through my first two years at community college, graduating community college, working for a year, and most recently choosing to go back to school, and finishing my Junior year at UPJ. Now, I can assure you that he has never "brought me down." I can still be independent and do the things that I want to do, and he does the same. He doesn't hold me back and he has not worsened my college experience in anyway. If anything, he has made my experience so much better than it could have been otherwise.

Honestly, I'm not sure I would have ever come this far in my education without him by my side. He doesn't bring me down, he gives me extra help and support. What's so wrong with that? If you are with someone who "always brings you down," being in a relationship in college is not your problem, being in a relationship with someone who thinks it's okay to "bring you down" is your problem.

The author continues to go on to describe being in a relationship in college with words like "anger", "inevitable confusion", and even called them "negative weight." How can you decide that every single college relationship is going to be negative in every single way? You aren't going to know what a relationship is like until you are in a relationship with that person, whether you are a college student or not. People are not all the same and there is absolutely no way of knowing what a relationship will bring to your life until you give it a try.

I'm not in anyway trying to say that everyone should try to get in serious relationships while they are in college. There is definitely something to be said for being independent and not being with someone who may not be good for your overall well-being. What I am saying is, this is a personal decision for everyone. This author has her own opinion, and that's okay. We all have our differences and our own opinions...but this author wrote the article to tell all college students that getting into a relationship is the worst thing that they could possible do to their college experience when it is really not. If the author feels that she does not want a relationship in college because of these reasons, then that's her opinion. That doesn't mean she should be telling others what to do. Like I said, it's personal. Everyone needs to make their own decisions regarding their relationships and no one has the right to tell you what the right decision is.