5 Reasons To Ignore The Hate And Give Your HS Sweetheart A Chance In College

As the last of the Millennials are getting ready for high school graduation in the next few months, those of us with SOs may be wondering if we need to let our partners go. Everyone knows a couple who does. Whether they've been dating since freshman year or are only a few months into their relationship, once they step off that stage with their diploma, they are now back in the dating game.

"I just want to have fun over the summer. We'd break up, anyway. I don't think we could last in a long-distance relationship."

For some couples, those are reasonable reasons to break up, and if both of you are in agreement, then go for it. However, if you are still as madly in love with your SO as I am with mine, then I am here to give you five reasons you should try to stay with your partner, even after going off to college:

1. You'll have a reason to be excited to come home.

You won't be like your friends avoiding their high school sweethearts every time Christmas rolls around. You also won't have to see your ex and bombard yourself with all those annoying "what ifs."

2. You won't be alone.

I can't even begin to imagine starting college single. (Is it like high school, but worse?) From the way people are explaining online dating and our current hook-up culture, it doesn't seem like a good idea. Besides, why try to fix (or break, in this case) something that isn't broken?

3. You won't have to worry about unfair double standards.

The cute guy you wake up next to in the morning isn't going to call you "just a one-night stand" or any other unfair label college students receive in the Millennial hook-up culture. In your case, all you'll have to decide is whether or not you should stay in bed for an extra two hours.

4. You'll have someone to lean on when college gets crazy.

And from what I hear, it will get crazy. You know your SO has your best interests in mind. You'll also have someone who understands your past to hold you accountable for your actions in the future.

If your SO has noticed you've gone out and partied too much and are falling behind in school, he or she will call you out on it for your own benefit. And since your partner already knows you so well, he or she will do it in a way he or she knows you'll respond well to.

5. You'll grow and learn together.

I don't know about you, but I loved watching my partner graduate from high school. I have loved watching him grow as a person over the course of his freshman year of college, and I know that he is excited to watch me do the same.

It's true that I have heard a lot of, "You're too young to know what you want," and "Only 2 percent of West Point graduates (where my boyfriend goes to school) are still with their high school sweet hearts."

I get it. The chances of us tying the knot are slim, but what I think people have forgotten is I don't have to be wearing an engagement ring in college to want to stay with my boyfriend.

It's true I may be missing out on the relationships I could start in college, but I won't have casual hookups that leave me heartbroken. I won't have to question what my situationship is with the guy down the hall. I won't have to stare at the back of my ex's head in the class we share. And all of that is comforting to me.

Instead, I'll be sharing holidays, major milestones and a whole lot of laughs with the person who has grown up alongside me. To me, that's worth preserving.