Dating in high school seems to be a way of life. All anyone hears when sitting in the cafeteria is the latest gossip about who is dating who, what two people just broke up, and the indignant chatter of girls about what a jerk so and so is. Why is it that the teenage society pressures everyone to pair off and form relationships? Teens are feeling this pressure as young as twelve, and I feel that that is just too young. High school is about experiences, I will admit that, but there is more to experience than tying oneself down to one person for the sake of pleasing peers. I’m not going to sugar coat being single, nor am I going to promote dating to avoid it. I am here to discuss the positives and negatives of being a single person.
Being single can be really rewarding, even if it does not sound like it might. Currently, I am a single teenage girl. A few of my friends have boyfriends or girlfriends and though I feel left out sometimes, I am glad that the only person I have to worry about pleasing is me. I don’t have to worry about my “other half” getting jealous because I’m dancing with someone at a party, or try to figure out how much free time I have to spend with them. Because I am single, I can concentrate on just figuring out who I want to be and what I want to do with my life after high school. Heck, I can even spend extra time sleeping if I want to. My life is mine and there is no other person to worry about when making plans.
Not having a boyfriend does set girls up for some social out casting, though. School dances and functions are implied to be for couples or groups of friends, and when everyone except for one person within a group is paired off to someone of the opposite gender, feelings of abandonment can arise. It is as if, our friends have left us to move on, leaving their single friend to sit on the sidelines and just watch all of these good times pass by. But girls, just remind yourself that you are a free person. You don’t need a guy to identify your self with in order to feel like a whole person. If you have a job or are successful in school, if you have a loving family or some really good friends, then you are already a step ahead the girls that believe that life is over if they do not have a boyfriend. Your pay check is yours to do with as you please, and the concerns of dressing to please someone are not there.
So basically, teenagers do not need to date all the time or immediately after the enter high school. Give things time to settle down, try and figure out who you want to be in your school before turning all your attention to the opposite gender. While experiencing a first date, a first kiss, and a first school dance with a date are all things to look forward to…life isn’t about hooking up with the hot guy that sits in front of you.