You see it every day: Boy meets girl. They start to like each other and date, and eventually they get married, living happily ever after.

Notice the emphasis on the word eventually; as in don’t propose to someone after a few months of dating.

I’m sure some people will claim they have experienced “love at first sight” or they have a strong intuition about having met someone. But let’s be honest, are you really ready to spend every day, moment and many years with someone who you might not completely know or understand? You most certainly can’t help who you love and care for, but there’s nothing wrong in just being completely sure not even just about marriage, but entering any kind of relationship.

Oftentimes, when you first start dating someone everything is perfect. You might think of this as sort of a “honeymoon phase.” You don’t get in fights, all you want to do is be around your significant other and nothing could possibly go wrong.

Anyone who is in, or has been in, a long-term relationship will know that after the first few months are over, sometimes couples find themselves in little arguments that weren’t there before. That’s usually because after getting to know the person better, you might get to know things about them you didn’t see before.

According to a study on college students by Psychology Today, about 85 percent of couples had reported lying to their significant other. Whether it may be to hide something or just to appear better, these lies will ultimately affect the relationship.

Even if it’s not about lying, after dating a person for a while, you or your mate might become increasingly comfortable being your true self around each other. It’s not that this is a bad thing because people should be comfortable with each other, but it’s when that person’s true self comes out that you might realize maybe you don’t like the person as much as you thought you did.

Thanks to pop culture, relationships, dating, love and marriage have lost their true meanings. When you’re someone like Britney Spears or Kim Kardashian, it’s OK to marry someone then file for a divorce shortly after. Not to call out Britney and Kim (because a lot of celebrities have done this) but if they make it seem acceptable to jump into relationships just as fast as they can leave them, what influence does it have on others?

Incidents like this have made not only things like marriage, but relationships and dating, lose their sacredness. Being with someone is supposed to be something special, and people shouldn’t overlook that. There’s always going to be times that some things are just not meant to be, but by taking your time before entering a relationship, you might have a better chance of being happy and avoiding heartbreak, or just not being part of an embarrassing break up.