Across America, high school teens are forming relationships. Creating relationships is a way of preparing for life. Responsibilities, trust and maturity are all part of the growth process in high school relationships.

Parents are always saying “You are growing up too fast.” or “Why don’t you just grow up.” These mixed signals are very confusing to today’s teens. Teenagers want to grow up but the process is sometimes scary, that is why relationships allow teens to learn more about themselves and others. When asked why relationships are important, Sophomore Branton Leazenby answered, “…social skills are part of everyday life and you need to learn how to interact with the opposite sex so that you know what to do later on in life.”

From a young age, children have been told stories that end in “happily ever after.” In these stories, the prince gets the girl, they kiss and live happily ever after. Teens hear those stories and see the movies that portray that perfect relationship in which there are never any difficulties and it lasts forever. Unfortunately, those movies do not always portray reality. Even the most perfect couples experience hardships every once in a while and learning to deal with such events is crucial in developing healthy relationships. Teens having a relationship in high school are able to better understand the difficulties and responsibilities in maintaining a relationship.

Junior Traci Longanecker says, “[Dating in high school] prepares you for your future because a lot of high school relationships end in heartbreak. If you’ve never experienced it, it’s hard to face that later in life.” Brooke Wojcik, a senior, says “In high school you get to date different people to find out what you like in a person which will help you find the perfect person for you later on.” Many teens believe that relationships in high school do not last very long because teens are only in the process of learning about each other. In doing so, teens are able to comprehend and understand how to act as well as learn what interests them and what does not. Since teens are learning, growing, and changing, relationships only last for a short while.

Junior Aimee Ringer believes that the word love is being over used, “Oh yeah, all the time. People say they love each other after a week; then two weeks later they’re single.” she says. Today’s teenagers are known as the love generation. While this sounds like a great compliment to this generation, it is more derogatory than positive. Teenagers today are throwing around the word ‘love’ more than ever before, almost to the extent that it is starting to lose its meaning. Junior Abby Gouker commented, “The word love is over used very much because they do not even know what it means to love someone.”

Freshman Courtney Edge says, “Just like the word epic, love is over used and it has almost lost its real meaning, people will say it within days of meeting a person.” To have a healthy relationship teenagers need to understand that it is built on trust over time, and that lasting relationships are built one step at a time.