Take a second and close your eyes. Clear your mind of any thoughts you may have. Now think about someone special. Whether it may be someone you’ve dated or maybe someone you like. Think about the way their smile lights up the room or how they smell when they brush by you in the halls. Now I want you to think about a conversation or interaction you had with this person. Did it give you get butterflies in your stomach or bring a smile to your face? Take a second to go through all of the significant interactions you've had. I'm guessing there's at least one negative. Maybe there was a time you felt actual pain because something they said hurt so bad or your eyes stung from crying so much. Ask yourself these questions: Why did I let myself go through that? Why did they make me feel so upset? Was it all worth it? Even though things may end poorly, you should never regret having a relationship with someone. Some people may think high school relationships are pointless but in reality they teach us a lot.

High school relationships show you ways to become stronger and keep pushing when you’re hurt. People say that you don’t want to have to experience that as a teen but if you truly think about it going through a breakup can make you stronger and learn how to deal with pain. I know what it’s like to feel as if someone has ripped your heart out of your body and then used it as a baseball. It makes you feel empty and worthless inside. But it’s those heartbreaks that you can use to make yourself stronger. You learn how to keep functioning when you feel like you can’t. You find ways to help improve your mood and bring a smile back to your face. Life is going to be full of challenging times and getting hurt, it’s just the way it is. But the sooner you learn how to deal with them, the easier it may be to recover in the future. Yes, they’re all still going to hurt and yes, you’ll still going to feel like Taylor Swift after all her breakups but now you have ways to get you through it. Breaking up in a relationship can show you how to keep going in life when things are tough.

Having a relationship in high school can help prepare you for adulthood. We spend a lot of time in high school preparing for adulthood through our actual schoolwork. It’s always a pain when we have to do our resumes or practice millions of math problems because “we’ll use it everyday when we’re older”. Why does all of our preparation for adulthood have to be such a hassle? It may not seem like it but you’d be surprised how much a relationship can prepare you. They help with future relationships and stability. You can figure out things that worked/didn’t work for future relationships but you also learn how you act while dating someone. Maybe something that needed improvement was the way you communicate your feelings. By realizing that’s something you need to improve, you’re already one step closer to having a more successful relationship. You can’t have a completely perfect relationship despite what Troy and Gabriella’s relationship might show us. There’s going to be arguments and fights, you just have to learn to get past them. I swear people think that just because we’re teenagers we can’t solve problems. Well we can and being in a relationship helps that. You have to talk things out and listen to each other in order to stay together. These are essential skills you can use when you’re an adult and dating in high school can help you practice them.

Teenage relationships show us what it’s like to be committed to someone. A relationship isn’t just like a drop in yoga class, it’s something you need to be committed to. When you agree to dating someone, you’re also agreeing to be loyal and dedicated. If you’re having a bad day or things in life are going rough, you have to fulfill your commitment and talk to that person. You can’t just bail and leave them wondering what the issue is. A relationship not only teaches you commitment but it also shows us what it’s like to be in a relationship with someone who isn’t completely committed. You learn how it makes you feel and the issues it causes. Whether it’s a lack of communication or they’re always bailing on plans, you’ll feel what it’s like. You can use those feeling to help your future relationships or even other commitments you’ve made. Relationships show us, when we’re younger, what it’s like to fulfill a commitment and how it feels to be “bailed on”.

High school is definitely stressful but it’s important to remember it can be the best four years of our lives. So why not have a little fun and date someone? Relationships have their ups and downs but it’s worth it. To have a intimate connection with someone and to be able to share your most personal thoughts with, is something truly special. On top of that you learn how to overcome being hurt, how to fulfill a commitment and you learn valuable skills for adulthood. Next time someone says that dating in high school is juvenile, ignore them and remember all the wonderful lessons and memories that can come from having one.