Stepping Stones

Ahhh, the first piece of advice. . . relationships. I haven’t been in very many relationships, but I have definitely learned a thing or two from the ones I’ve had (oops, now you know this is my life). Something that I learned is that, especially in high school, relationships are stepping stones. You may date people that you don’t see a future with, but that relationship might just be what you need at the moment. You may be in a dead end relationship and not mind, because the other person is sweet, understanding, funny, and gets you out of your shell a little more. You may be in a relationship with someone that you see a future that you don’t necessarily want, but a future that you still might like. This might be a sign that you’re not meant to be with that person, it could be a sign that you want your future to be different than you thought, it could be a sign that you want different things and that you’ll just stay where you are with this person for now and not take it too far, or it could be something completely different. Just because I think high school relationships are stepping stones, doesn’t mean I think they shouldn’t be taken seriously. I genuinely believe that a person should put everything they can into their high school relationships because that’s how you learn and live. Dating should be fun and eye opening, and that can’t be the case unless you throw yourself in. I’ve talked to my friends about how we get into relationships in terms of getting into a pool. One of my friends explained her way as sitting on the edge of the pool with her feet in the water until she feels comfortable enough to slowly start moving in from the shallow end. Another friend explained her way as looking at the pool, slowly walking away, then doing a running jump into the deep end, and another friend said she looks at the pool and leaves. My way is slowly wading into the water from the shallow end, then diving into the deep end when I feel comfortable. That whole pool section was probably either super helpful or super confusing, but either way I think it’s important to know how comfortable you feel when getting into a relationship. It is also important to know that you won’t always be dating someone that gets into the pool at the same rate you do, so you both will have to compromise and learn. I feel that no matter what stage of life you’re at, whether you’re just starting to date, or if you’re married with kids, I believe that relationships are for learning.