By Ashley Basta, Editor-in-Chief of The Banner, WRHS

Ah, typical high school relationships. We've all been there. You spend hours on the phone every night and hours getting ready every morning just to look cute for whomever's attention you seek. You fall frantically into something you assume to be 'love,' only to realize that it will vanish and reappear with another person within a month. You get your heart broken, and feel the pain of that break until you have matured enough to laugh at your adolescent emotions.

We have all experienced the pettiness and drama that are attached to at least one relationship during high school. This kind of thing most often happens at the beginning of the high school stretch, when we're just feeling out the dating scene. Nonetheless, everyone seems to get caught up in it at one time or another.

And now it is time for Valentine's once again. Amidst the chocolate, candy hearts, and carefully rhymed cards, we are reminded of 'love' and what it truly means to participate in it. While some are lucky enough to find their other half in high school, it comes as a shock that a student's interpretation of a significant relationship is often skewed by a lack of real experience. On this Valentine's Day, instead of getting caught in a situation that may or may not turn out the way you hoped it would, try to see your daily interactions from an angle more suited to the wavering whims of high school drama.

There is a certain drill to high school dating, and we all seem to be aware of it. Flirtation, attraction, contemplation, action. Then "Will you go out with me?," and suddenly you are in a relationship. A few weeks of introduction as so-and-so's girl/boy-friend, and then most relationships of this sort will come to an end. The break-up happens, and you are thrown out of the relationship as quickly as you were suckered into it.

While adults and participants in more realistic relationships will verify that relationships never have specific starting and stopping points, we in high school decide that our relationships will. By binding ourselves to the invisible restrictions that we ourselves establish, we run the risk of getting too involved in an unstable situation and missing out on the genuine wonders of a legitimate interaction with another individual.

In no way am I saying that love in high school does not exist, or that everyone in a high school relationship is simply caught up in a n immature, unrealistic situation. Every case is different, and I am not qualified to define the status of high school relationships in general. I can, however, comment on what I have experienced and what I have observed, and it seems that many are ignoring reality when they fall into the trap of high school dating.

What seems to be the most important factor in a healthy relationship is that both parties are content in their own positions. No matter how exciting the events of this Valentine's Day may be, remember to think of yourself first and react in the relationship realistically. Don't fret over silly matters, don't put yourself in a position to be hurt, but most of all, don't worry. The most heartache seems to be caused by people that make too big a deal out of a predictable scenario. As you go through the cycles of an archetypal high school relationship, remember that the strongest relationships are those that develop naturally.