There comes a point in our lives where we begin to pursue relationships. For many of us it’s around our high school years. I went to a very small high school and grew up with most of the same people in my class my entire life. If you asked me if I thought I would date anyone I went to school with, you probably would have got an, “absolutely not.” It wasn’t that I didn’t think the boys were good enough, it was that I had a hard time believing I could find that spark with such small options. Like many, I was also guilty of setting my standard a little high.

When I started high school I was blinded by my unrealistically high standards. I am not saying that having high standards is bad, but honestly not having unrealistic standards was the smartest decision I have ever made. There are more important aspects for us to consider than what we see in romance movies. My senior year of high school, I devloped a small crush on a boy that was younger than me, a sophomore. I hid my crush, afraid that I would be judged for liking a younger guy. Thankfully, I had a friend who gave me the extra push I needed, and I pursed him. There our little love story began.

I had never spoke to this guy in my entire life. I figured he didn’t even know I existed. To my own surprise I was completely and utterly wrong in so many ways I could have ever thought possible. This boy not only had a crush on me for more than a year, he persistently told his friends how attractive he thought I was before I even knew he existed. The thought of that to this day makes me grin from ear to ear. I know we have all heard the saying “opposites attract,” and that couldn’t be a more accurate representation of our relationship. We were nothing alike, but our interest in getting to know one another overcame our differences. Our age difference is one of the most appealing things to me and because of it we had so much more time to get to actually know one another. We didn’t even go on a true date until about nine months into our relationship. Waiting on him to grow up made our relationship grow at a much more reasonable pace. Almost two years later, I wouldn’t take back my leap of faith to give this boy a chance and luckily for me, he just keeps getting more attractive with age.

Maybe people think I’m naive for thinking he’s the one. Sometimes there are just things we know in our hearts to be true and for me this is one of them. To whomever is reading this I just hope our little love story gives you hope for a chance at love. Maybe you won’t find love in high school, but just know it is possible. Do not have unrealistic standards because chances are the person you imagine as the person you spend the rest of your life with is just that, a figment of your imagination. Don’t make a final decision on your impression of someone because of their age; maturity is much more important. Most importantly don’t forget that your opinion is the only one that matters. Always pursue whoever you like. At least you can always say you tried. I have learned firsthand to keep my options open and to not care what others think. You never know what is waiting for you around the corner, maybe it’s your life partner.