Ditch Getting Hitched?

Anyone who has seen my Pinterest board knows I'm beyond excited to get married someday. I love weddings and I think it's a beautiful tradition to unite two people for life. Hello, my new favorite show is "Married at First Sight!" My parents will be married for 23 years in November. Witnessing a love like theirs growing up is one of the many reasons why I want to get married someday. But now my view is not so commonly shared...

TIME recently posted a piece called "Why 25% of Millennials Will Never Get Married." First of all, it came as a total shock to me that a quarter of people aged 25-34 don't want to get married. I personally do not know anyone who is against marriage.

The top reason given for not wanting to tie the knot was that they haven’t found the right person yet (30%). I wouldn't throw in the towel if I didn't meet "the one" before turning 34. There's a lot of life to live before finding Mr. Right and we are living longer anyway!

27% said they aren’t financially stable enough to get married. Have I mentioned my student loans lately? Yea, I probably will not be able to afford the wedding of my dreams until I'm 30 (and that's a low estimate). But those loans will be paid off someday, and eventually I'll find myself in a place where marrying the man of my dreams outweighs the stack of bills in my mailbox. Patience has never been my strong suit, but I'm willing to wait.

22% admitted that they are not ready to settle down. This is where I'm a little biased because I've been with my boyfriend for almost two years. We talk about our future together, and everything we want to do. We might not be ready to "build a 10% down, white picket fence house" just yet, but that's definitely where we're headed someday.

I totally understand how it's not for everybody. Even comedian Sarah Silverman claimed the tradition to be "this superbarbaric, old-timey tradition that no one remembers we don't have to do anymore." I've heard opinions from people about how some married couples could have a terrible life together while non-married couples could be happily committed to each other. I would respect someone's wishes to choose not to get married, but I know it's something that I've always wanted.

"He stole my heart, so I stole his last name." - Unknown