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Love comes and goes. It’s something that lingers, especially in high school. It’s normal to grow a crush on someone, and then have it fade away. But are people’s goals set in the future? Are big things in store for Taft students, even beyond their high school love life? Or do they have their minds glued onto relationships?
Relationships in school can be good opportunities for personal growth and character development, but they have a reputation of being short-lived, or being thought of as something that usually happens in the moment and isn’t predicted to last, especially after those four years.
Also, there can be social pressure, with the expectation that you should be in a relationship at least once while you’re in high school.
There are two types of relationships, ones where people act immature and there are often unrealistic expectations. This can give Taft students a weird stigma around relationships, and it makes it harder for people to take each other seriously. Dating can take attention away from schoolwork, which can affect one’s focus and overall performance in an academic setting.
Then, there’s the other where people can act kind and caring. This can give Taft students the feeling of being supported and loved. Dating can give support that was thought to not be needed – it can help influence and give motivation to do the school work.
“My relationship kinda just happened,” said Nicky Waszak, a senior. “We’ve been dating for a year and two days.”
“Having a balance between school and relationships is not really complicated. It’s just a matter of putting in effort to work things out,” continued Waszak. Effort is an unspoken rule, or something that’s expected amongst both people in the relationship, without really having to make it clear out loud.
“In the beginning, trying to take care of both my school life and my relationship was a challenge, but it’s not so much now,” said Mylo McDonnell, a junior. “We’ve been together for four months.”
“It’s not really hard to balance. My relationship just happened,” said Victoria Krupa, a junior.
Even teachers can relate to easing tension when it comes to dating. “My fiancé and I have been dating for two years. I got engaged in the beginning of the school year,” said Abigail Cozariuc, a Social Studies teacher at Taft. “Balancing work and my personal life is tricky, depending on our schedules and how busy we both are.”
There’s always pros and cons, because things can happen outside of school that can affect someone’s mood, and vice versa. “Whenever I’m stressed out at school work, it affects my energy badly,” added McDonnell.
“Sometimes the relationship affects my school life, but not all the time. It’s a little hard keeping everything together while you’re in IBDP, but if I lock in, I can see my girlfriend,” said Bella Ornelas, a junior.
“I have extreme focus. I’m doing good when it comes to school, everything’s all positive. Being in a relationship is actually influencing me to do better,” added Waszak.
“My life as a whole has changed in a positive way. Being in a good relationship makes you want to change for the better,” added Cozariuc.
“I’ve been able to pay attention and be more aware,” continued McDonnell.
“My mindset has stayed the same,” continued Krupa.
Overall, relationships can cause many different types of emotions. They help unravel the type of person one is and help encourage them to be the best or be a better self. In relationships, someone can get through rough times. Also, knowing there’s always someone to catch them when they fall, it makes it easier to go the extra step unconcerned.