Within your four years in high school, it is more than likely that you will have at least one love interest. However, some students believe that either playing the field or not dating at all is the way to go.

Aleks Buchak, Div. 556, believes that dating is fun, but sometimes unrealistic in a high school setting.

“I feel like it’s extraordinary if the person you commit to in high school is the person you’ll end up marrying,” Buchak said. “For a lot of us, that’s not the case. Some people may deny that fact or ignore it but it’s true.”

Buchak said that although he does not like to date, sometimes he wants to.

“Well sometimes the same old gets boring, even the adventures of a single bachelor lifestyle,”  Buchak said.

Buchak said social media has a huge impact on the way relationships are.

“All over Twitter you see ‘relationship goals’ or ‘bae.’ It’s like I want [a relationship],” Buchak said.

Buchak’s first high school relationship was early freshman year.

“It was a very dramatic month,” Buchak said. “I say that because we were only 15. I wasn’t too mature emotionally. I won’t speak for her though.”

Buchak said that since now they are on good terms, it is fun to look back on the past relationship.

While some students have the issue of not having the best relationship, Yohannes Asefa, Div. 558, has parents who do not want him to date at all.

Asefa’s mother, who is originally from Ethiopia, experienced great losses at an early age. Losing both her parents, and having to become a mother for her siblings, she had to grow up at an early age.

“You see every day there’s baby mamas and baby daddies– she doesn’t want that to happen to me,” Asefa said. “She wants me to focus on school so I can get into the best college I can get into.”

Although Asefa’s father is more open to his son’s dating, Asefa believes in the wisdom of his mother.

“She wants the best for me because she didn’t have [distractions] when she was growing up,” Asefa said.

Guys are not the only victim of a “no dating” policy from their folks.

Jenni Nguyen, Div. 561, has had her dating experience halted by her parents.

Nguyen knew from an early age her parents would disapprove of her dating. Her parents would disapprove her cousins’ decisions,who were involved in their own relationships.

“[My parents] would always say things about how [my cousins were] always going out with the opposite sex at an early age and it wasn’t good for them,” Nguyen said. “By seeing how they react to my cousins I can already tell how they would react if I dated.”

Nguyen said her father believes she should focus more on school and grades, and not boys and dating.

“They probably think I’m too young to be in a serious relationship and I don’t want to upset them,” Nguyen said.

However, when Nguyen did date, she kept it a secret from her parents. Hiding her phone, and even telling them that her boyfriend was “just a friend.”

“I didn’t feel the need to tell them,” Nguyen said. “My parents weren’t necessarily nosy to who I hang out with because they trusted me.”

Although some parents believe dating is not recommended some teachers approve of it.

Lauren O’Malley, an Alpha and AP Seminar teacher, believes that dating in high school is appropriate.

“School is number one. I coach student athletes. In the same way that  athletics should be second to school, dating should be second to studying and school. But there’s nothing wrong about dating as long as it doesn’t interfere with school,” O’Malley said.”They will have the rest of their lives to date and find someone to marry. They don’t need to spend all of their high school time finding the one.”

O’Malley said that because she is an Alpha and AP teacher she feels more inclined to push students to do well in school.

“Dating is developmentally appropriate at this age for you guys to want to date and explore the world around you,” O’Malley said. “But it should not interfere with your academics. Now or in college.”

Whether you choose to date or not, high school is a time to have fun, date, and be free.