birds and bees

last semester my room-mates and i had a discussion about living together before marriage. i was surprised to find that not all of my room-mates agreed with me about the downfalls to such an arrangement. today i ran across this article, which hardly even mentioned biblical reasons for not living together (which is the strongest reasoning for me) but discussed some of the myths about the process:
myth 1- living together is a good way to "test the waters"
myth 2- couples don't really need that piece of paper
myth 3- cohabitating relationships usually lead to marriage
myth 4- cohabitating relationships are more egalitarian than marriage
http://www.crosswalk.com/marriage/11531429/
another thought i had today was about kissing, after reading this quote:
"the decision to kiss for the first time is the most crucial in any love story. it changes the relationship of two people much more strongly than even the final surrender; because this kiss already has within it that surrender." -emil ludwig
years ago now, i decided that i would strive to save my first kiss for my future husband and my idea was that it would be at the altar. that seems quite ambitious to me now, but still possible. with my lips still un-kissed, i was thinking today about my motives for this form of abstinence.
and tomorrow, equality riders will be visiting both of my classes. i am excited/nervous to spend time with them, hearing their stories. such an array of people: gay, lesbian, transgender, bisexual or allies for their cause. it should be an interesting day.