By Maggie Popek
Dating a senior leads to one inevitable problem: graduation. And graduation means college, where one can find parties full of singles on the prowl. While this may be a good time for many, it is a temptation that can cause relationship problems, especially for a high school sweetheart who has been left behind.
Emily Ciasto, Div. 350, and Cody Davis, Div. 270, have been dating for five months and are planning on making their relationship work after graduation. Although Davis is undecided on what college he will be attending, Ciasto is looking into the same colleges he did, in hopes of joining him after her graduation in 2013. Meanwhile, she is planning on seeing him on the weekends in order to stay together.
“I thought long-distance relationships were stupid and couldn’t work. But our strong relationship makes me believe it is up to the person to make it work,” Ciasto said.
The strength in their relationship goes hand in hand with the amount of trust they share.
“Cody and I have been faithful to each other and not given each other any reasons to be suspicious, so our trust is very strong,” she said.
Ciasto and Davis are only one of many couples facing this situation.
Sara Glowacz, Div. 350, and Alan Gunderson, Div. 253, have been dating for a year and a half and are also planning on making their relationship work after graduation.
“I thought long distance relationships didn’t work and are just bad for people, but it depends on the distance,” Glowacz said. “If it is close enough that you can see each other every weekend, or every other weekend it will probably work out.”
As for communication, Gunderson believes that it will not be that much different from the usual calling and texting.
“I think we both realize it won’t be 24/7 communication and I don’t think it would be a good thing anyway,” he said.
Glowacz admits that she is a little scared because she will not be there all the time to see what he is up to, but she trusts him completely.
Despite all the trust and strength in a relationship, it may not be the healthiest thing for a college freshman to hold onto.
Psychology teacher Mrs. Langford explains that college is the time to branch out and meet new people. Relationships only limit students to their dorm rooms where they would Skype with their significant other back home. She offers some advice for those students who are questioning whether or not to stay together after graduation.
“If you are a junior dating a senior, after prom be the better person and let that person free. Break up and give him or her a chance to let him or her have the college experience he or she deserves. It is the responsible and mature thing to do,” Langford said.
This, of course, is easier said than done, and some couples cling to the hope that they can make their relationship last even though they are apart.
Special Education teacher Mr. Dan O’Donnell married his high school sweetheart a few years after they graduated. However, he agrees that relationships after high school do not often work out.
“My wife and I were lucky,” he said.
O’Donnell’s relationship was aided by the fact that he and his wife both attended college here in Chicago and admits that things would have slowed down if they had been farther apart.
Even if a relationship is put on hold, the possibility always exists of starting things back up again a few years down the line. Until then, several Lane couples have a tough decision to make between now and graduation.