I am in the lunch room with my significant other, laughing and eating together; my friends dry heave and roll their eyes at me, but I ignore them. “How long have you guys been together?” someone asks. “Since freshman year,” I respond. “Oh, so you guys are gonna be high school sweethearts?” Their question gets me thinking, will this relationship last forever?

In all high school relationships, there is always that uncertainty of, will we still be together after we graduate or will we live happily ever after? A high school sweetheart is someone that you meet in high school and then marry them later on in life. They are a rare find because most high school relationships do not last that long. For Jacqueline Rice, English teacher, this was not the case for her and her high school sweetheart. 

“We met at Ferris, I was thirteen while my husband was fourteen. I actually hated him freshman year, but later on we became close friends sophomore year,” Rice said. “We started dating after our senior year of high school; I only applied to the schools that he got full scholarships to, so we ended up going to the University of Maine together.”

Rice’s definition of a high school sweetheart is someone you grow up with and somebody that challenges you, but also someone that pushes you to be the best person possible. They see you inside of school and outside of school, so they are the person to define who the real you is.

“I mean, I love my husband. We have evolved over the years. Every relationship has its ups and downs. But I think that our ups outweigh all the bad that we have ever had and our beautiful daughter Leila came out of it. So it’s just a testament to our love and relationship,” Rice said.

Senior Noreon Curtis, wants his relationship to last forever. Being with his girlfriend for two years and ten months, Curtis hopes to marry his girl. 

“The thought of having a high school sweetheart is cool, you know it’s basically marrying your first love,” Curtis said. “This is the longest relationship I have ever been in and the fact that we have some people saying we are high school sweethearts, I like it.”

Any relationship has its ups and downs, not every couple is perfect, but when you meet that person who will walk you home after school, have dinner with your family, and be your best friend; you can only hope that they will be in your future.