Opinion: High School Sweethearts or Doomed Relationships?

Relationships are a very delicate subject because they can be convoluted and difficult to navigate. But as high school comes to an end, I have reminisced on the many relationships that I have encountered in my four years at Rangeview. While a few remain, many of them are now history.

There are so many phases and steps to a relationship that young adults who are actively developing must adjust to, but aren’t ready to do so. Steps that require depth like getting to know one another, then taking the next step to be in a relationship, and ultimately knowing how to balance that relationship among all other responsibilities, which in high school is quite a lot and is something that teens are not capable of doing. 

Knowing all of this, high schoolers settle on the belief that they will marry someone they fall for in high school when statistics say that less than two percent of people marry their “high school sweetheart” and even then about half of those couples end in successful marriages. For this reason, it is clear that dating should not be taken as seriously as it is in high school. 

It could be very unstable in the future because having a “high school sweetheart” could mean you become dependent on that person and in turn do not gain enough independence or you might drift apart and grow at completely different rates. 

Personally, a relationship was too much to add on top of everything that I had going on, and while I tried on one occasion to have a relationship, I could never balance being in a relationship, school work, a social life, and a home life. However, it is obvious that many people seek someone who is there for them at all times. 

“People really like the attention. Our hormones are going crazy and we always want someone there for you. A lone human is a dead human,” senior Sidney Duncan said.

Teenagers should still date, however, as they should not expect anything serious to come from a relationship because while it is possible, it is not likely. The minds of adolescents are not fully developed and therefore are not capable of knowing what is or isn’t beneficial in terms of romanticism at the time.  

At a young age, the reasons for being attracted to a person can be as shallow as simply considering their looks or their popularity. Later in life, as priorities change, pretty faces won’t be enough to keep you interested. 

“[We’re] children, [we] don’t know what love is yet,” said senior Breanna Wilson.

Relationships in high school are like a sketch before a beautiful painting. Artists get to see what they like, don’t like, and what to edit to finish it off. In the same way, people learn from certain relationships so that in the future they are aware of what they want. So even if someone does remain in a high school relationship, realizing that they’re incompatible can happen later in life when they’ve grown up. 

“After you graduate high school, you get a whole new perspective on life and you are a lot more independent, and your maturity spikes and the adult in you knows better once you’re older.” added Duncan.

It is clear that not enough long term relationships have stemmed from high school ones to value them as much as teens do these days. Again, growing up can make you change priorities and interests, which can make you more compatible with someone other than your high school partner. More times than not, high school relationships gives you a blueprint of what you DO NOT like/want in a relationship.