High School Relationships

This topic seems cliché but it really is a very important part of all students' lives. There are romantic relationships, friendly relationships, teacher relationships, and many other relationships that take place in high school and every single one makes an impression on a student still growing and changing in society and how they fit in.

The first relationship a student will make, at least that I have seen in my experience, is going to be friendly relationships. Usually these will take place with people that have similar likes and interests and thus stem from sports or clubs. I met my new friends, when I moved my freshman year, in my honors classes. The majority of us had multiple accelerated courses together and so it was easy to invite them over to study and gradually those turned into just normal parties with good friends.

Next I would say, comes negative peer relationships. These will be with people that, to put it frankly, really bother you. I'm a slightly pessimistic person by nature and so there are a lot of people that I don't really like. I try to be kind to them anyways because I recognize that I'm going to be with them for four years of school and I don't want to be miserably fighting with them for those years, but I also don't make it a point to hang out with them.

After the peer relationships comes teacher relationships. These aren't as crucial to some students, depending on the course type and how dedicated the student is. I've been through some classes where I do the assignments and listen to the lectures but don't ever talk to the teacher for the entire semester. Other teachers I go see every day to either talk about school work or just discuss social life. These people are very influential, both academically and socially to a student.

Finally, the last major relationship is going to be romantic. There are many aspects that can be covered in the word "romantic": boy likes girl but girl doesn't like boy or vice versa, girl and boy like each other but kind of like others as well, boy and girl are exclusive, etc. Lots of students that I know (granted I live in Utah) are really against having romantic relationships. I strongly disagree with these people. I won't bore you with details, but I recently went through a breakup, after a year and a half of dating, and it was really hard. I cried for a long time and went through multiple phases of grief and depression. In the end, I don't regret anything. It was a growing experience and I wouldn't change a thing. I know many of my friends look at me and think I made a huge mistake and wasted half of my high school career on one guy but I don't think of it that way.

When thinking in terms of relationships, you really do get out what you put into it. If you only casually wave to that one kid in chess club, chances are they are only going to casually say "hi" every once in a while. If you swoon over your significant other, then expect the same in return. Relationships define us as people, so be the kind of person you would expect others to be.