As Valentine’s Day comes and goes, teenagers find themselves wishing they had spent love’s holiday with a special someone. More often than not, teens feel as if they need a special someone in order to properly celebrate V-Day.
“I think so many high schoolers believe we need a significant other to celebrate Valentine’s Day because we have all grown with the image that it’s a romantic holiday,” senior, Johann Hernandez said.
Some high schoolers have the opportunity to celebrate the romantic holiday with a significant other, but there are a wide variety of relationships that occur in high school. Some relationships are toxic and a waste of time while others are healthy and worthwhile.
“I think high school relationships are a little overrated because some people make it seem like it’s so great all the time but still are not mature enough to take it seriously, or they have the wrong intentions. But I believe it truly depends on the relationships and the people involved,” senior, Kayla Javillo said.
According to Huffpost, only about two percent of high school relationships last. Many strive to be ‘high school sweethearts’ while others enter relationships without a purpose.
“I do think most high schoolers do rush into relationships. Again, depending on who’s involved, some people want a relationship just to be in one. I think sometimes high schoolers seek person after person, not realizing the bigger picture of a relationship just because they want to be with someone just for that time,” Javillo said.
“I believe so many high schoolers rush into their relationships and because of this they end up paying the price for it later on. By paying the price I mean that the relationship [they rush into it] could get extremely toxic,” Hernandez said.
Teens are also likely to rush into relationships to escape loneliness or to feel better about themselves. Numerous high schoolers are not aware of how to show themselves appreciation, so they try to find appreciation from others.
“I believe that some students struggle with self-love because they see others on social media platforms and compare themselves to them. Social media is a great platform to communicate to friends and such, but a terrible app that destroys self-confidence and worth because we believe we have to look like models or the rich Kardashians that hang so high above us, but when we really see the world for how it is, most of it is fake,” senior, Paris Catledge said.
“I think teens struggle with self-love and self-appreciation because we get too caught up in what society thinks and being accepted by others rather than from yourself,” Javillo said.
Social media and society create unrealistic expectations, so it is extremely vital for teens to practice self-care in order to boost their self-confidence.
“Some ways teens can practice self-love is to first be accepting of yourself. Realizing your own worth is so important. I think whether it’s how you look, how you feel, or what you do, teens should love every aspect of what makes them who they are. I practice self-care by taking some time for myself to relax or by doing something I enjoy,” Javillo said.
“[I suggest] maybe do some self-coping exercises. Spend some time with yourself and find things you love to do. Don’t worry about what others think about it [either]. Cancel out the world for just a week. Delete that one app that makes you look down on yourself, and make a change,” Catledge said.