To Those Who Have Lost Faith In Young Love

Don’t get me wrong, I was like you once. When I was in my freshman year of high school, I would always mock the people who would wander the halls hand-in-hand with their latest “sweetheart,” laugh as they spoke about how their parents rejected their plans to go on spring break with their “one true love," and I would gag when they would make out with their flavor of the month in the hallways.

But that’s the funny thing about love…it comes when you least expect it.

I had never been the type to look for a boyfriend or play my cards to catch the attention of my latest crush. In fact, I thought it was comical that people were even in relationships or thinking about relationships in high school. Romantic things like “high school sweethearts” and “love at first sight” were things that I thought Hollywood made up with movies like "A Cinderella Story," "High School Musical" and "Princess Diaries." Perhaps some of my cynicism came from my own family life — mom and dad got married right out of high school and had me. A few years later, after another child, they divorced.

It’s not that uncommon here in the United States, where 50 percent of marriages end in divorce.

Late into my sophomore year of high school, a friend of my best friend at the time was looking for a prom date. Being a sophomore, this was my one chance to go to junior/ senior prom. I volunteered. Like life does, I got a big smack from reality when my now-boyfriend of nearly seven years asked me to be his girlfriend late one night after I swore up and down to my family that “I don’t like him like that." (Yeah, yeah…when are we going to get married? That’s a story for another time. Thanks for asking).

Obviously, I said yes.

Like I said, I was like you once. Now I have several adult acquaintances, as well as myself, who have been happly in their relationships since high school. I’m not saying that all high school relationships will turn out like mine (in fact, I highly caution using common sense when picking a partner — if they cheat on you, are wishy-washy or generally treat you like garbage, please evacuate the situation). I think that if you are willing to work hard to maintain and grow a relationship with someone remarkable, no matter how young you are, it will likely flourish into something worthy of your lifetime and commitment (as long as your parents like them too)!