Teenage Love? | Teen Ink

Teenage Love?

August 19, 2009
By Meredith Munro SILVER, Spring Lake, New Jersey
Meredith Munro SILVER, Spring Lake, New Jersey
9 articles 0 photos 12 comments

Do you believe in love in high school? Could it possibly exist?

No way, kids don't know what true love is... But, how many people do you know that dated in high school that are currently married and happy? I personally know about 4 couples very very well that are now happy after being high school sweethearts. Did they just like each other as teens and grow to love each other? When did the "like" change to "love?" In college? Age 21? 22?23? Or could they possibly have loved each other all along?

How can you put an age on love?

I, personally, believe in teenage love. I truly think it exists. Adults that did not fall in love till they were, in fact, adults, will most likely dismiss it. However, some - like my mother, for instance - do not dismiss teenage love. Do you?


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This article has 924 comments.


hmmm.. said...
on Mar. 2 2011 at 10:30 pm
Come on, guys! Those of you who are saying that you're teens and you're as serious as adults in your relationship need to realize that you need to focus on school and your family and your friends when you are a child (under 18). Of course you can date, but you should not be doing things adults do when you are not an adult!!

LOVE said...
on Mar. 2 2011 at 10:20 pm
No, adults realise that making out and/or some touching is inappropriate for a school setting. If you are making out frequently with your significant other, you need to reconsider your relationship; this is a bright red sign screaming INFATUATION.

LOVE said...
on Mar. 2 2011 at 10:14 pm
This article is posing a conflicted question. Love - true love - is not a feeling at all. Infatuation is something that you feel. Teenagers can love, and teenagers can also be infatuated. It is much more common for the latter to be the case, but it is certainly possible for teenagers to love. And the person you love doesn't necessarily have to be your significant other. He or she can be your best friend. There are many ways to describe love. Love is marked by sacrifice; without sacrifice, it is selfish, and therefore not truly love. Love never seeks to do harm to a person. (etc. ) "How can you put an age on love?" Obviously, you can't. Could you truthfully tell someone that a child doesn't love his mother, or that children are incapable of selfless love for others? No, you could not. Therefore, love exists at all ages. Infatuation is most common in the teen years (hence the many misconceptions about "teenage love" and "true love"). How could one person be your "true love"? One person could be the person you choose to spend your life with, yes. But are you telling me that you will never truly love anyone else - not a best friend or parent or sibling? The idea of a "one true love" is then a misconception; it actually is your "one true spouse". Before you discuss love, you need to understand that it is not just for your significant other. And that "true love" you feel for him or her is probably actually infatuation, with some real love mixed in. That's fine..but it's very important to realise that, or one of you will end up hurting the other.

on Mar. 2 2011 at 9:48 pm
I can be open to that. With the addition that yes no one knows what love is, but i believe love is what you define it to be. so its possible to maybe find youthful love but with all of the things that affect the youths mind today, its very definite that for them its pure passion, possibly a necessity, with willingness to fit in. without experience which indeeds creates wisdom, i stand by with the idea that youths dont really fall in love. pure luck.

catty said...
on Mar. 2 2011 at 9:01 pm

I thoroughly agree with you. I actually believe that almost nobody on this planet truly knows what love is. I sure don't. People get lucky. I believe that everybody has ONE-- call it "soul-mate"-- true love. Weather that person was alive in the 1700s or today, there is only one.

I believe people confuse the love they feel for their parents and close friends for "true" love. The parenting-I'm-going-to-take-you-under-my-wing love is muchmuchmuch different than the real thing.


Vegas44 said...
on Mar. 2 2011 at 8:04 pm

Lyssa28, I agree with you when you say that you can only truly "fall in love" once.  I feel like that ends up happening around your teen years, say high school? The love is pure and you might not necessarily be in a relationship with that person, but you fall completely head over heals for them. 

As to livkota's comment, sixth grade is far too young. That's around age 11 or 12. What kid at that age can even fully comprehend love, I have older cousins who can't, let alone a sixth grader.  I get it that you're with someone and things seem real peachy, but just be careful and don't mistake love for lust or any other hormonal feelings. Love is a strong thing and is different for everyone. 


lyssa28 BRONZE said...
on Mar. 2 2011 at 7:17 pm
lyssa28 BRONZE, Las Vegas, Nevada
2 articles 0 photos 89 comments
I believe that you can only 'fall in love' once. I also think that everytime a teen says theyre in love, that only 2 or 3 really know what it means. I havent met the right guy yet. And even when i thought a guy was gonna be the one in the end i wasnt sure that he was the one afterall. you can only be in love once.

livkota said...
on Mar. 2 2011 at 5:54 pm
awww, how sweet <3

livkota said...
on Mar. 2 2011 at 5:53 pm
I for one know tht love is real.  I am in middle school, and i have expriencd it b4.  I believe tht love in any grades 6-adulthood.  The earth would be unhole if it werent 4 love

on Mar. 2 2011 at 5:47 pm
I'm sure love does exist for teenagers. However, what you seem to be refering to is TRUE LOVE. Love is an emotion. True love is what you're thinking of. Teenager's can fall in love in high school, but the real question is will it last. True love is always there, true love is your soulmate. The person the heavens want you to be with, and that is somthing you find at any age. The four people you know found eachother, found eachother in high school. However, nit everyone finds true love in high school, you may find many years from now. So don't expect for it to show up at your doorstep, you have to look. 

on Mar. 2 2011 at 5:30 pm
I know for a fact that teenage love is real. I have fallen in love with someone that I now have learned I can never live without. He is the sweetest person I've ever met and does everything he can to make me happy. I love him so much and he has always promised to protect me against all harm. I love him more than anything and would give everything I could just to be with him.

Monkeylove13 said...
on Mar. 2 2011 at 2:59 pm

I agree with u 2

 


BGB13 said...
on Mar. 2 2011 at 2:31 pm

I completely agree with your opinion! I love it! I'm a freshman in high school and I really know what it feels like to "love" a girl, like my girlfriend of 11 months.... But after being told by many that "you don't yet know what love is" or "you can't even comprehend it yet" or comments of that nature, I have come to a similar conclusion. However, what I have come to believe is that there are differences between LOVE and FALLING IN LOVE. Love is the unconditional, undying, lifelong and faithful devotion to a person in your life. You do everything in their best interest and respect them. Falling

in love is a more amateur form o love. This is the new obsession with a person. All you can think about is them, and you tend to get nervous when you're around them, especially when you try to talk to them. And whenever you do talk, you always try your absolute best to say the nicest, most kind and positive, things that you can possibly say to that person; no criticism, just compliments! Falling in love may certainly lead to love—not in all cases—but it is a possibility. Falling in love is a new, young feeling that you get towards someone. During that time is when you're constantly excited by the person and you always go out of your way to do everything you can to see them even if it's just half a second of seeing their face. Also, this tends to happen with someone you don't know that well—someone that is NEW to you. On the other hand, when two people actually LOVE each other, they have decided that they like each other well enough (and KNOW EACH OTHER well enough) to look out for one another and take their relationship a little more seriously. Love is long-term. It's more than just a feeling. When you have fallen in love, you feel a love-like (love-ish, I mean) sort of emotion/feeling/sensation/mindset. This is a feeling that in time, does wear off. Real love, like in a marriage, is supposed to last forever. That's what those wedding vows, "'Til death do us part" mean. Divorce isn't supposed to happen. That's when two people are in love and they THINK they love each other for real so they rush into it and before not too long it falls apart.

 

I apologize for making my post so LONG and DRONING! Whenever I comment, I always end up submitting a really long paragraph! Thanks a lot everyone!

 

—BGB13


HE>i said...
on Mar. 2 2011 at 1:07 am

I once thought that I was in love. But, really, I was infatuated. I basically liked what the guy would give me. He was truly in love and I ended up breaking his heart when I stopped. You really have to make sure that what you feel is real or it could ruin everything.

I believe in fallng in love in highschool, at your senior year, when you are really deciding on what to do with your life. Anything before is really just you finding out what you like in a person for the future. If you stay with the same preson until marriage then that's great! But, be smart about your feelings...that way no one gets hurt.


on Mar. 1 2011 at 10:53 pm
TOTALLY TRUUUUU

on Mar. 1 2011 at 9:19 pm
I beleive at high school we find a friend that we truly admire but not fall in love. those "high school sweethearts" were blessed to find a friend to grow with, in which they both learn more about themselves, learn what they want, someone to make mistakes with, and when they've gotten older, they've actually fallen in love with this person that has stuck by their side all along. they are fortunate, but love? no, especailly with the media creating its own brainwashing idea of what love is.

on Mar. 1 2011 at 7:39 pm
i believe in it :3 my dad was my moms first and only boyfriend..... aw so romantic XD

Red Rose said...
on Mar. 1 2011 at 7:30 pm
i feel that there is such thing as teenage love. a family friend of mine asked this girl out thier freshman year of high school and they're married with a baby boy :) plus i am in a relationship with someone right now and i believe that i AM in love.

Ddoodle89 said...
on Mar. 1 2011 at 7:24 pm
i agree i think that u can love at any age.My grandmother used to say age doesn't matter unless your going to go bad so enjoy what time you have without worrying

CanOnlyDream said...
on Mar. 1 2011 at 7:05 pm
I agree! I fantasize what love should be too much, but i know its not reality. Im in middle school, but i really dont want to have a relationship til high school. I see so many ignorant people around me and it makes me cautious. I like to learn from their mistakes. But i still believe in teenage love.