True love and high school are two words that contradict each other. For some reason each of these words said in the same sentence leaves a vile and bitter aftertaste at the tip of your tongue. Adults fall in love, not teenagers…mature people with a passion, a place in the world, and a job other than leveling up in Minecraft.

Some may argue that it is merely the thought of love, no matter how passionate, that can be found at any age despite experience or maturity. And while these romantics remain optimistic, reality is staring them right in the face. The majority of the time, high school relationships do not last, as only two percent of new marriages in North America are comprised of “high school sweethearts”.

One major reason that high school relationships ultimately result in demise is due to the lack of maturity. The experts say it has to do with brain development. It seems that after the age of 13, the brain in a young adult outwardly looks just like a brain of someone in his or her late 20s, but it doesn’t process information as well. The part of the brain that helps people make logical and rational decisions is just developing in a teen and usually it’s not fully functional until the early to mid-20s. Teenagers are simply not sophisticated and experienced enough to handle all of the hardships that come along with a relationship.

High school relationships also detract from the true meaning and concept of school. School was once a place where individuals joined together in the same classroom with the same thirst and desire for knowledge. Their only goal was to academically excel. In today’s society, the true meaning of the word has been altered and misconstrued. High school relationships are one cause of the modification of this word. A relationship takes away from the things that are truly imperative at such a crucial and fruitful age: preserving a focused and steady education. Students should be in school to further develop academically, not to daydream about what Christmas present to buy for their significant other.

Another primary obstacle in high school dating is time. Students today routinely sprint through jam-packed daily schedules, tackling big servings of academic work plus giant heaps of extracurricular activity in a frenetic tizzy of commitments. Relationships don’t just materialize and maintain themselves, and they aren’t built on a foundation of convenience either.They require time and dedication, two things that students lack.

Relationships are already pretty fragile around the teenage years, so why put them in jeopardy and peril by risking a heart-breaking and destructive break-up? Someone who goes through a severe break-up in high-school is undeniably more susceptible to being more damaged and affected by it than an older individual, because teenagers are still evolving and maturing. Falling in love and undergoing a heart-break could disrupt their abilities to trust and open up to someone in the future.

Another pivotal argument against high school relationships is that teens have a shallow and negligible manner. Teenagers often get into relationships to fit in. It’s the inevitable truth. At this adolescent stage of life, fitting in is as important as getting into a good college or maintaining a good G.P.A . Teenagers feel pressured by their peers to be in a relationship and misinterpret the idea of dating in general. A relationship used to mean having an eternal best friend. Now, it means nothing more than going on a few dates with someone, “hooking up”, and then breaking up. This incessant cycle encompasses the lives of many teenagers and gives relationships a trivial notoriety. Being in love is so much more than holding hands with someone. It goes deeper than being able to say, “ I have a girlfriend or boyfriend,” and teengaers have only just scratched the surface of this perplexing concept.