In high school, students often aspire to fulfill numerous expectations that they set for themselves. Examples of these expectations include one must be a straight A student to succeed, being a jock in order to be “popular”, or even in a relationship to fit in. Expectations that are set at a young age can lead to the romanticizing of the life one thinks they are supposed to live. Romanticizing high school relationships is arguably one of the most prominent topics of a high schoolers career. Here are a few ways that high schools romanticize and idealize relationships in their teenage years. 

Growing up, movies and television shows provide examples for what the “perfect”  high school relationship is supposed to look like. Channels such as Disney, Nickelodeon, or even the Cartoon Network have all shown relationships in their productions, which has ultimately led to children at young ages having ideas as to what relationships are supposed to be. In addition to movies and television shows, social media has also shown much presence in influencing relationship advice and standards. On platforms such as Tik Tok, Instagram, and even YouTube, highschoolers especially watch their favorite influencers who chose to share their relationship publicly.It is often forgotten that viewers  are only seeing what the influencers show to their fans, which oftentimes, is only the highs they share with their partner. 

In addition to the influence of social media and entertainment, the influence of those around one can also lead to the romanticizing of relationships. Because high schoolers are surrounded by people like themselves, it is more often than not seen that people set unrealistic expectations for what their relationship should look like. Oftentimes high schoolers compare their relationships to one’s they see at their school, leading to an unrealistic reality as well as false hope. For example, if two people appear to be in a “perfect” relationship from the outside, others may use that as their relationship goal. Setting these goals is ultimately leading to the false reality and unrealistic view of what a relationship should be. 

With unrealistic expectations also comes the pressure from society as well as other high school students. It can also be thought that just because other people in high school are in relationships that students feel the need to be in one as well. Because everyone has started dating, there is the pressure that others have to as well in order to fit in with social standards. 

By romanticizing something, we as human beings make it seem better than it actually is in reality; we give it a false reality by creating it to what we want it to be. When applied to high school relationships, this idea can be shown in numerous hidden ways.