by Chelsea Plunkett
Homework, tests, and long school days. Those are probably the big three things that come to mind when you think of school.
But what about all the social parts of school?
Between balancing due dates for group projects you probably procrastinated on, going to sporting events, and hanging out with friends, there's one thing that seems to be on every teenager's mind:
High school dating.
In this month's advice article, Staff Writer Chelsea Plunkett sits down with a couple of Point Loma friends to chat about navigating high school relationships.
Off the bat, Junior friends Joey Bell*, Peter Griffin*, and Connor Murphy* agreed that dating shouldn't be a teenager's priority.
"As a high schooler, you don't want it to take over your life. You don't want to invest so much into it because, literally everything else would be more important," Bell said.
But if you do want to get into a relationship, Bell thinks it shouldn't be too serious.
"If it becomes too stressful, and you're always arguing, there's not really a point in staying together," Bell said. "It's not like you guys are married."
Bell, Murphy, and Griffin all agree that there is a fine line between arguing and respectful disagreements, and communication often plays an essential role in that.
"The biggest (red flag) would be failure to communicate," Murphy said. "If you can't talk honestly with your partner, the vast majority of the time it's going to fail… and if you get ghosted, just break up with them."
Relationships are all about accepting and loving one another for who they truly are, so it shouldn't be like you're trying to be someone you're not just for the person you like, and you shouldn't start dating someone if you hardly know them beforehand.
"Go on dates with them to see if you like them and then start dating…." Griffin said. "Don't be like, 'Oh, you're really pretty. Do you wanna be my girlfriend?' You have to get to know them first."
And on the other side of the spectrum, don't date someone solely because you already know them.
"If you're around a friend a lot and you're close with them, and they're the gender you're attracted to, you'll think you should just date them because you're close to them," Bell explained. "And they are a candidate… but don't just date out of convenience," she added.
Overall, don't let a high school relationship take up all your time and commitment. You have the rest of your life to find new people to date.
"My main advice is if you like them, ask them out, and if you get rejected, then move on…." Griffin said. "Don't waste high school worrying about it- you should just have fun times with your friends."
*Students' names have been changed to remain anonymous.
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