High School Sweethearts

We’ve all heard the old saying, “It’s just young love.” After talking to four couples, four singles, and a success story, in an attempt to get an answer to the question that everyone is dying to know; does young love exist?
Diane Fickel, the Computer Business Applications teacher here at West High, has a heartwarming romantic success story. She met her husband in junior high and jokingly said, “I fell in love with my husband in seventh grade but he wanted nothing to do with me.” During their sophomore year, they started dating and she knew she was in love her senior year. “In my gut I knew he was the one,” she said. Fickle believes many high school relationships are too clingy, and many people lose their identities trying to satisfy the other. When asked about her opinion on PDA, she laughed and said, “I hate it, people know I hate it so they stay away from me. It’s disrespectful to other people and to yourself.” Fickle recalled that all of her friends had married their high school sweethearts and they still meet twice a year.

Brett Molina ‘17 and Hannah Krupp ‘17 have been dating for almost three years. They met at a junior high basketball game and bonded over the English class they shared. After dating for as long as they have, they discovered some of the benefits of dating in high school, such as always having someone there for you, and meeting new people through them.They also think high school relationships aren’t worth the effort most of the time. “They’re pointless unless you actually see the relationship going somewhere and it means something in the long run,” Krupp said. Molina also added that high school relationships can be serious if you choose to make it that way.    

Maddie Fletcher ‘16 and Mitchell Boxwell have been dating for almost two years. They met in a geometry class, but it was Twitter that brought them together. They both agreed that most high school relationships are not legitimate. “Most relationships don’t last long and aren’t real, but ours is different,” Fletcher said. In a year they both plan to attend Wartburg College together.    

Josie Anderson ‘19 and Jason Strunk ‘19, have been dating for nine months. They first met in junior high, where innocent flirting turned into a relationship. According to Anderson, dating in high school is amazing because, “it’s like another best friend.”she said while smiling at Strunk. Currently they spend most of their time at Strunk’s house and eating dinner with each other’s family. Neither of them enjoy PDA, and they believe West High has too much PDA.    

Karli Maurer ‘18 and Nick Burgess ‘18 have been dating for close to five months, but were talking on and off for two years before they got together. They enjoy hanging out at each houses and running errands because it makes them “feel like adults” as Maurer put it.  They both believe that high school relationships can be serious if the two people are mature enough. Burgess also added that you have to trust each other. The couple agreed that there are many benefits to dating in high school. Along with Anderson and Strunk, they say it’s like having another friend group to merge with. Maurer believes high school love is possible, saying, “Love is so different for everyone, like a seventh grader could say they’re in love and maybe it is love to them.”

Quincy Russum ‘19, a single freshman, has a different outlook on high school relationships. “High school relationships really aren’t worth the effort, but I guess I’ve never been in one.” Russum said.

Like many others, he thinks many high school  relationships aren’t legitimate and he believes most only last a few weeks. Nick Haddy ‘18 has nearly the same viewpoint as Russum, he believes only about 1/30 legitimate relationships last until college. “High school relationships are pretty annoying,” Haddy said. He also added that many of them are cheesy.”Stop holding hands in the hallways, no one cares,” he said.

Kelsey Baller ‘17 thinks that high school relationships can be good, but you have to make sure to keep your priorities straight. “They are alright for the most part; it’s good to have someone outside of your friend group but they can be restricting at times.”

Senior Katie Olson has a strong opinion about high school relationships. Even though she thinks they can be worth the effort, she says that they bring too much PDA to West. She also has her opinions on cheating saying, “If it hurts another person emotionally.”

So does young love exist? That is left up to your interpretation, but one thing is for sure, there are a lot of opinions about high school relationships here at west. People are constantly being affected by romantic relationships. Whether that being a crush or a five year relationship, everyone can relate to the feelings drawn by a significant other.