Relationships are a huge part of high school. The relationships that we have during these years are what prepare us for dating in the “real world.” But what prepares us for the relationships we have now?
The media portrays love like it’s a fairy tale; we are made to believe that love really is all we need, and that it is okay to make your life revolve around one person. Due to the influence that the media has on society, we are under the delusion that if we could just find that one special person to sweep us off our feet, our life would be perfect and everything else would simply fall into place. However, this couldn’t be further from the truth.
The “honey moon phase” of a relationship is said to be the happiest time. It’s those first few months where all you and your partner seem to care about is being together, and everything about the other person makes you even crazier about them than you were before. But for your friends and family, this could possibly be the least happy time in your relationship. Many teens often get so caught up in their boyfriend or girlfriend, that they neglect nearly every other aspect of their lives.
Somehow, we are able to justify this to ourselves, thinking that it is okay to ditch our other loved ones just this once, and we’ll make it up to them the next time. And then one day, it’s two months later and we still haven’t given them the time of day. Suddenly, we find ourselves in a relationship that just isn’t what it used to be, and a severe lack of friends to talk to about it.
It is important to find a balance in your life; you must make time for your partner, but also for your family, your friends, and most importantly for yourself. In my opinion, it is best not to get so caught up in one person that you forget who you really are and everything that used to matter to you. You can’t expect one person to fulfill all of your needs; allow a variety of people to do that collectively. To expect so much from one person is not only unhealthy for you, but it is also unhealthy for them. It never feels good to have so much expected of you, and never be able to live up to the standards of a person you truly care about. When you put all of that pressure on your relationship, it is bound to break.
Alyson Graham
