Inside: What is the percentage of High School relationships that last?
Ah, young love. We’ve all felt it, laughed about it, and cried through it. Let me tell you, one thing I do kind of miss about being a teenager is that exciting feeling of being in love for the first time. For my sanity’s sake, I will just focus on the BEING in love part and not the falling out of love part.
Yes, when you are young and fall in love, you are inevitably signing yourself up for heartbreak. But is that heartbreak worth it? I think so. You get to experience such a wonderful thing for the first time ever. Even if it doesn’t last, that is a feeling I would willingly get again.
When I was younger, the one question I avidly avoided was, ‘what is the percentage of High School relationships that last?’ as if the answer would doom my first sweetheart. In reality, what doomed that relationship was the fact that we actually didn’t fit. But regardless, today, I will be answering that question for those of you out there that are curious.
What Is the Percentage of High School Relationships that Last?
I’m going to rip this off like a bandaid, and we can get into the logistics afterward.
According to an article on the Narcissistic Life, “According to Brandon Gaille Marketing, married high school sweethearts only have a 54% chance of their marriage lasting ten years (compared to 32% of the average American couple). But if they wait until at least 25 to get married, their long-term success rate jumps to 78%.”
So High School Relationships only last about 54% of the time, which actually is not as bad as I thought it would be. Even though you will only have a little over half of a chance, it’s better than it is lower!
So roughly 1/2 of High School relationships will last; why is that? Let’s go into some of the different factors that High Schoolers have to deal with when in a relationship.
Things That Help High Schoolers Stay Together
I wanted to start with the positive things; that way, you don’t feel that I’m some pessimistic person who is jaded from their High School love experience. I’m not, I swear! I actually love love. If you’re a hopeless romantic, too, then the list below will make you happy. I have gathered some factors that work in a High Schooler’s favor when being in a relationship.
1. Grow Together – Though our parents say we should never base our future off of someone we are with now, High schoolers do have this in their corner; they can grow together! If they are truly committed, they can go to the same high school or do long distance.
2. Learning Brains – When we are teens, our brains are not fully developed yet. This one will also be on the con list, but it has the opportunity to help as well. When you meet someone and fall in love with a more malleable brain, you will be able to adapt to the ways that person needs to be loved better. So being in love at a young age can be very helpful.
3. Longer Love – This one is a no-brainer. When you fall in love in High School, you have the potential for longer love. Sure it won’t be all sunshine and rainbows; true commitment almost never is, but you are finding the person you are willing to work for early on, and that is a gift.
Many people in the world wish they could have been with their partners sooner; now, you just have more time with yours.
Things That Aren’t In a High Schooler’s Favor
I have to give the facts, and I wouldn’t be doing that if I only put the good stuff. Now, obviously, your relationship is a unique thing, and you may not fit into all of these factors, but they are still very important to consider in the long run of things. If you do decide to go for a long-term relationship during and after High School, it will be a lot of work. If you are up for the challenge, then I think you will ultimately succeed.
1. Relocation – Many High School relationships will disintegrate when it’s time for college. Many teens will end up going to two different schools that are way too far away from eachother, and it makes them realize that they don’t want to go long distance. It’s a strain that you cannot avoid, really unless you choose to go somewhere together.
This causes other issues at the same time. Decisions like this can result in possible regret later on.
2. Brains Aren’t Fully Developed – This is that double-edged sword from above. Yes, as a teen, your brain isn’t fully developed, which in turn causes you to make decisions that are more illogical. Once you get older, the characteristics that you may have enjoyed about your High School crush may be absolutely disgusting to you.
If you are reading this as a teen, I know how annoying it may sound. I remember being your age, and statements like this made me feel like a blundering baby who didn’t know what they were doing. That is not what I think at all; this is just something to consider.
3. Emotionally Immature – As we grow older, we learn how to handle our emotions in better and better ways. Sadly, when we are in High School, we are still very much at the beginning of learning to handle complex emotions. We are more likely to hurt someone’s feelings, make decisions that we don’t fully comprehend the weight of, and flippantly change our minds.
Weird to put it that way, I know. But it is true. Now, I am not calling you out personally for these things. In fact, I’m only in my early twenties, so I know there are still so many things that I need to work on. It’s just important to bring up, in the grand scheme of things, you will look back and be able to identify all of these things about yourself in one way or another.
What Is the Percentage of High School Relationships That Last? Conclusion.
What is the percentage of High School relationships that last? 54% of all High School relationships will succeed. That is one out of every two relationships which will either give you hope or crush your dreams. This is the real optimism/pessimism test here, folks.
The thing about relationships is you never know if they are going to last. Even as adults, you have no idea if the person you are with will end up working out. That is because, at any age, humans are very complex creatures. Sometimes it just works for some people; other times, it doesn’t. You are not reduced to a statistic.
If you are curious about some other things that you may be dealing with in High School, I think you will enjoy some of my other articles. I like to do my best to answer as many questions as I can, but here is a good place to start.
Mom to teens with lots of ideas and inspiration to share for travel, food, parties, school & fun!