My neighbors, “Ken and Barbie,” are high school sweethearts, but for many people this won’t be the case. Everyone seems to be in a relationship, well not me, but still everywhere I turn I see a new couple in the hallway. Now I’m all for expressing your feelings to someone you love, but is that guy you’ve been dating for a week really someone you love?

High school relationships with this generation move a lot faster than they used to. It seems as if everyone feels the need to be in a relationship because all of his or her friends are in one. Now I know this feeling all too well, most of my friends are in a relationship but that doesn’t mean I have to rush and try to get into one. There are too many couples out there that don’t know anything about each other, but say they are madly in love. If we actually took the time to get to know each other on a personal level, relationships would be much easier.

Besides moving too fast, relationships aren’t valued the same as they were in the past. People just get into relationships without knowing and understanding the responsibilities that comes with caring for another person. When you get into a relationship you can’t just think about your feelings alone, you have to think about your partner’s feelings as well.

By moving too fast, we forget a key element of being in a relationship. Dating. Yes, dating is different than being in a relationship. Dating is the part in the relationship where you actually see your partner outside of school. You go out to dinner or the movies and just spend time with each other one-on-one.

Relationships have become more public with Twitter, Instagram and all the other social media sites, which makes everything easier for people to see and hear about. It is crazy how many couples I’ve seen arguing over Twitter. A relationship is between two people, not your 400 followers as well.

My last point in this long rant is that kids younger than I am are treating their relationships as if they are a married couple. They do everything together and have no space, which can lead to an unhealthy relationship. These kids are so young and will just blurt out “I love you’s” to keep their relationship going, but they don’t even mean it. Love is a short word with a powerful meaning, and we shouldn’t take it for granted.