Article after article will tell you why you shouldn’t live with your boyfriend before you are married. I am here to tell you why it was best for me to “shack up” as they call it.

I have loved this man for over four years now, but at the time I was a young 19 years old. With love struck dreams and hearts clouding my eyes, I decided that I wanted to live with him. I will never regret that leap of faith.

1. You learn so much about a person when you live with them

He cannot describe in detail the odd noise he makes when he brushes his teeth, in fact, he doesn’t even know he makes an ear drum rattling noise. That noise struck me every morning and every night like clockwork. “What is he doing in there?” Come to find out, he rinses his mouth approximately 6 times because he hates left over toothpaste being shoved in the dark corners of his chubby cheeks that I love so much.

2. You learn about yourself.

I shed. Kinda like a mangy dog to describe it. I never knew I did. Truthfully, until I was living with him and finding my hair all over his stuff I had no idea. Oh hey, fuzzy floor in the bathroom! I learned that I shed and that I talk in my sleep. I also learned that I am really annoying when I am sleep deprived. I wouldn’t know that now if I didn’t move in with him.

3. It brings you so much closer.

There is no better feeling than sleeping beside the person you love every night. There is no comfort that can hold a candle to the comfort of having his arms wrapped around me at night. That is my safe place and now I am lost without it. Knowing your best friend is by your side throughout the night is a safety like I have never known. The warmth that is emitted from his body to thaw my cold toes will never cease to be one of my favorite feelings. He is the fort I built as a kid to hide away from the outside world. He is the place I call home. I retreat to him after a bad day at school. He is the first thing I see when I wake up and the last thing I see before bed.

4.You need to know every aspect of this person.

I cannot fathom marrying someone and not knowing their weird habits. Trust me, you will discover the grotesque, intriguing, and sometimes just strange habits this person has acquired over the years that they have lived alone. I want to know how he acts when he is sleepy, hungry, mad, sad, scared, elated, depressed, anxious, and any other combination of emotions that can be felt by the human brain. I need to know the inner workings of his mind so I can morph myself into whatever he needs me to be at that moment.

Living together won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, but it is a thought that deserves to be entertained between the two of you. I have loved every minute of living with my now fiancé. He is my favorite person. The best part of my day is going home to him. Sometimes home isn’t four walls and a ceiling but dimples and brown eyes, a kiss when I walk in the door, and a back rub after a long day.