Love makes the world-go-round. Yes, this is the phrase everyone with love goggles on swears by, but perhaps high schoolers shouldn’t shout it out.
Many people enjoy having a boyfriend or girlfriend. They believe it keeps their life interesting. In some cases, it motivates students to go to school. Countless people feel like they want and need to be in a relationship, yet teens often want to throw caution to the wind when it comes to high school relationship. They might not even think about if cons outweigh the pros.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 
According to The Huffington Post, only two percent of marriages in North America are those of high school sweethearts. In addition, most people unknowingly start a high school relationship in order to help their self-development rather than actually wanting intimacy, as reported by The British Psychologist Society. The high school environment is intense and includes drama. Adding in a commitment of a relationship doesn’t necessarily make people’s lives easier.
Rebecca Layton, the psychology and sociology teacher here at Loy Norrix, thinks that having a high school relationship can be fun and thinks it’s pleasing to have someone to grow and share your life with. On the other hand, she believes that relationships should not be controlling or distracting and that it should be a bonus to your life, but not the main focus.
“You don’t date to make yourself whole, you date to add a positive to your day,” said Layton. “It is good to have a relationship where you feel appreciated and cared for, and where you get to care for someone else. It’s fun to feel like you are have a ‘partner’ as you go through your life.”
Relationships in general aren’t unhealthy, but in high school, they could not only be distracting but can be exhausting. Lots of teens feel like they have dated or are dating people who are controlling or abusive. However, students often blame not sleeping, missing school work, and all around struggling in life on teachers, parents, and the school’s environment. They don’t blame or take a look at their relationship. They don’t look at how long they were up on the phone with their partner, when they skipped out on doing school work to hang out with them, or if their relationship is causing them stress or drama.
Every high schooler hears the warnings about being in a high school relationship and how they aren’t worth it, lots of people doesn’t listen. Being able to date in high school means you have training for an actual adult relationships. It can also give you someone to bond with and add to your life.
Junior Matthew Vestal agrees. Vestal and his girlfriend have been together for 3 years now. He believes that the best part of his relationship is having a friend just as much as a girlfriend. He thinks that his relationship is strong and that people don’t and shouldn’t interfere with it.
“We keep to ourselves, but we also have a lot of confidence in our relationship,” said Vestal.
Although high school can cause stress, depression, anxiety and a boatload of other things, having someone, although it may be nauseating to everyone else, can help you. You can grow with that person and make that person happy. Even if the odds aren’t in favor of having a long-lasting relationship, it does happen. If two people can really make the relationship work and somehow continue finding things to talk about, and fun things to do together, then it’s really pointless to keep telling them that they won’t last. They will eventually start to believe it. Relationships make teens jubilant. If two people decide to put in time to a relationship, they will try to make it work if they really want to.
There are many different ways you can spin high school relationships, good or bad, but teens will do what they wish to do. The odds don’t account for every situation and the satisfaction of the relationship can outweigh all the obstacles.