Since our childhood, we have all felt a certain pressure of finding the perfect person for us.  It began with the Disney princess movies that our parents put on for us, the ones full of romance and happy endings. It continued into the grade school classroom where our peers constantly teased us about all the boys and girls we liked.  Since then, I feel we have held this standard for ourselves that we must find love in order to be happy.

In today’s society, I feel it is obvious that there are many standards held among us teenagers.  Standards from not only our parents, teachers or peers, but also from ourselves.  There is a certain standard that teenagers have put on themselves: the necessity to have a significant other.  Some individuals feel they need to have a companion in order to be content.  Many high schoolers ponder over why they haven’t found “the one” yet.

I don’t think very many people can say they haven’t wondered whether they will find the right person to spend the rest of their life with, which is a fair question to ask.  As our lives reach the high school age, many teenagers start racing these questions through their minds and begin to feel a certain pressure to find “Mr. or Mrs. Right, and to find “love.”  This is a major issue I see in our generation’s world: the thought that romance is the top priority even at the age of just 14 and stressing over the thought of never finding love.  I know I am no expert, but there are several reasons why I think teens shouldn’t stress over this.  

I don’t believe that there is such a thing as “the one,” and that there is only one person in the entire world that is the right person with whom we can be happy.  I think a good, healthy relationship requires hard work, sacrifice, and certainly shouldn’t be expected to appear at the start of high school.  It is also important to learn who you are as an individual before trying to commit to another person.  Every day we grow and learn about ourselves a little more.  Taking advantage of the single life can help you grow and figure yourself out.  

After noticing the failure to acquire a girl/boyfriend, some worry that their standards set for their significant other are too high.  False.  I think lowering standards for your partner only allows for you to settle for something that you may not even truly want.  Before a better half comes self-love.  

I’ve witnessed a number of individuals in high school, worried about ending up alone and never finding love.  There is no need to be anxious about such things as high school is merely the beginning of your push into life and the real world, and finding the right person will come with that.  Finding the one for you is not something that you can just schedule.  Patience is an immense aspect for detecting love, and not putting your life on hold just to wait for the right person.  Those who learn to love themselves first won’t feel the need for attention or validation quite as much and will, in the end, have a better chance of finding the right one for them and possessing a healthy and happy relationship, as you can’t love someone else before you learn to love yourself.