Together forever?

The stress of final exams, saying goodbye to friends and family, planning out a dorm situation. These are all factors of senior year coming to an end.

Another factor many students have to talk about: What will happen with my high school relationship?

Sociology and Journalism teacher Nina Glass married her high school boyfriend. The couple however, took a break during college before coming back together.

“I think at the time we both really needed it,” Glass said. “We had been together for so long and sometimes you just don’t know if you’re together because you like the person or if it’s just out of habit. One thing I knew even as a young twenty-something was that I didn’t want to wake up when I was 35 or 45, look at him and be like, ‘What did I do.’ I had never been with anyone else so it was beneficial to meet other people.”

Despite Glass’s love story starting early on in her life, she has a certain take on teenage relationships.

“I actually don’t like teenagers dating,” she said. “While I do believe that they do help in spousal selection for the future, I also feel like, for people like me who actually find the person they’re going to marry at such a young age, sometimes really bad habits form when you’re young and you’re highly emotional. You expect so much out of the other person. Those really bad habits can actually carry on into your twenties and later so I’ve always been against teenagers dating because it takes a lot more work to unlearn old habits.”

An adult’s opinion however, is not going to stop teens from dating.

Whether the relationship lasts two months or two years, teens are eager to date.

However, as senior year comes to an end, some of these couples have a tough decision to make.

Some couples hope to attend the same college or university. Other couples in contrast, have made plans which work out for both of their desires for the futures.

Seniors Carolyn Hight and River Perlungher have decided to move to Switzerland after graduating.

“I have been telling my parents, even before he was in the picture, that I do not want to go to college right now, that was just not the plan,” Hight said. “I told them that I wanted to take a gap year and travel. Then when we started dating, I told him that college is just not for me right now and then he said, ‘I have a wrestling offer in Switzerland. Would you want to go?’ and I said, ‘Yeah that sounds great.’”

Senior Nickolas Mancillas has been dating his girlfriend senior Cassidy Brown for three months and has presented her with a promise ring. They both plan on continuing their studies at TCC after graduation and anticipate a lasting relationship.

“People don’t know how big my heart is and I have very strong emotions,” Mancillas said. “When I say something, I stick to my word and I say I’m going to stay with her forever, so I’m going to stay with her forever.”

After graduation, every choice a young adult makes can affect their life.

Some couples may choose to dictate their lives around each other, and some may choose to plan separately. Nevertheless, the conversation of, “Where do we go from here?” must be brought up.

“It’s not something we just threw into the picture and was like, ‘Let’s just do this,’” Hight said. “When you start dating towards the end of your high school career, it’s like, are you going to stay together or are you not going to stay together? How is it going to work out? So there are a lot of things you have to talk about with a high school relationship. It’s not just something where you get a promise ring and you’re together forever.”