I'll start out by saying that I hate the term "high school sweethearts." It's really mushy and feels weird to say but I don't know if there are any other terms I could possibly use. I have been with my boyfriend for six years; we started dating sophomore year when I was 14 and he was 15. I know quite a few couples who have been together for just as long, but for some reason we all seem to go through the same things. People have some really negative things to say about high school sweetheart relationships; I think they just don't like seeing others happy. I'd like to address some of the things I've seen and heard regarding my relationship status.
The negativity surrounding relationships like mine is strange to me. As a freshman, I read a lot of articles targeted towards high school sweethearts warning them to break up before college. They warn of the infamous "turkey drop" in which high school couples end things over Thanksgiving break. There is always a certain dislike that people have towards high school sweethearts. Behind your back, people will bet on how long your relationship will actually last. To your face, they'll ask you why you would ever want to stay with someone you started dating in high school. Articles love to tell you that one of you will cheat, you'll both be miserable, or that you'll never actually do anything in college. This is a pretty common trend; just Google "college tips for freshman" and most of the lists tend to mention that you should break up with your significant other before college. I get that not every relationship will be able to make it through college, but the negativity gets a little tiresome.
I get a lot of questions from people when I tell them I've been dating my boyfriend since high school. I'd like to answer some of the most common ones here in hopes that I won't ever be asked them again:
"Aren't you sick of each other yet?" If we were, I don't think we'd be together.
"Wow, six years is a long time! Where's the ring?" Well, I feel no obligation to be engaged, but if I were engaged you'd probably just say I'm young and dumb anyway.
"Isn't that kind of a distraction?" Well seeing as both of us have a GPA over 3.5 and my boyfriend got an amazing internship last year, I would say we don't distract one another.
My absolute favorite has to be "but how did you ever have fun in college?" People assume that because you're in a serious relationship in college that you spend all of your time watching Netflix and eating take out while all of your friends have fun at parties. While I'll admit I love watching Netflix and eating take out, I've also spent the last four years having a great college experience. I lived on campus for the first two years and hung out with my friends all the time. I spent the spring of 2015 doing the Disney College Program all the way in Florida. We were 1,000 miles apart but we didn't break up. My boyfriend goes out with his friends pretty often and we have lives outside of one another. Being in a relationship doesn't doom you to an unhappy college experience.
I've been fortunate to date someone through the most challenging times in my life. My boyfriend and I have seen each other go through awkward braces phases and learned what it means to be in a relationship. We've graduated high school side by side and gone through college together. This May, I'll watch him walk the stage and receive his bachelor's degree and know that somehow we beat the odds that seemed stacked against us.
Simply being in a relationship people would classify as "high school sweethearts" has a certain stigma attached to it. People want to see your relationship fail for some reason. While many high school sweethearts don't actually last through college, we've managed to last. I've never let the negativity get me down, but if you have anything bad to say, just follow some sound advice from Thumper.
Editor's note: all images in this article (excluding the Thumper .gif) are courtesy of the author of the piece.
