Distance places strain on high school partnerships

Samantha Whittaker, Staff Writer
January 31, 2012
Filed under Featured

Look around you. How many people do you see holding hands? Imagine not being able to see that special someone every day. That is the case of seniors Erica Taylor and Rachel De Voe. They both have long distance relationships.

Taylor has been in a relationship for a year with someone in Austin, Texas. They met five years ago online. Taylor said she “kind of got lucky.” The distance means that they “were able to connect at a younger age.”

De Voe has been in a long distance relationship for five months with someone from Utah. Although the couple faces separate time zones, she said that the distance “makes us stronger because when we are apart, we are more careful about things we say and do.”

Taylor agreed, adding that it is hard to communicate without the use of body language. “If I’m mad, I can’t just cross my arms and ignore him.”

Counselor Cary Cada said he believes that students enter long distance relationships because “people are curious, lonely, and struggling in general.” He added that “it’s easier to open up to someone you can’t see.”

Cada had advice for people in long distance relationships. “Don’t buy into it heart and soul–you never know until you spend time with them.”