Sam Klein
Print/Podcast Editor
Arianna Peper
News/Opinion Editor
Statistically, high school relationships don’t last. However, when looking at high school relationships closer, there is more to the relationship’s lasting than the surrounding environment.
According to Save our Schools, only about 2% of high
school couples make it long term, showing that most of these relation-
ships don’t “make it.”
However, optimism and realism find their balance in the issue.
“I think that they can last. Like, I think they have the potential to. Not all of them [do], but some can. Why? I mean if you really love someone you’ll make it work, but college is a big factor in that, and you can easily drift apart,” junior Will Hotze said.
Sophomore Ella Markham agreed. “I believe that they can–I feel like it’s rare but it can happen,” she said.
For these students, “making it” as a
couple does not necessarily end with getting
married.
“I guess if you make it out of high school, and you guys know that you want to be with each other, and you guys make that effort to try to do that then I guess that qualifies making it,” Markham said.
For junior Carl Ellis, his relationship making it does mean getting married, but he believes there are other ways to make it too.
“I guess what qualifies making it is still having a stable relationship throughout the years. [It] Doesn’t have to be marriage. Making it for me is marriage, but making it past high school and staying committed, stable, and in a healthy relationship [is also making it],” Ellis said.
In order for one to have a successful and healthy
relationship, there are steps that have to be taken.
According to New York State, “Healthy relation-
ships involve honesty, trust, respect, and open communication between partners and they take effort and compromise from both people. There is no imbalance of power. Partners respect each other’s independence, can make their own decisions without fear of retribution or retaliation, and share decisions.”
One should have frequent conversations with their partner to make sure they are respecting all these in order to have a successful relationship. These are key to having a relationship that satisfies both parties.
Although it might seem as if the relationship is doomed to fail, it is important to
recognize that not all high school relationships end with a breakup. Ellis’ parents met in high school
and have been together ever since. Therefore, going into a relationship assuming that it’s bound to end might not be the best way to look at it, and all relationships should be viewed with optimism of “making it.”
However, the purpose of high school relationships is not just about “making it”- it is about learning and growing as people together. Even if the relationship doesn’t work, the growth and knowledge developed from that relationship is still valuable for both romantic and platonic relationships throughout one’s life, but by having trust, respect, communication and honesty, anyone can have a successful relationship that continues beyond high school.
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