Many people, if not everyone, want to be in relationships, but many of us don’t know what exactly we are looking for in a relationship or how to even be in one. People think that relationships are easy to be in and don’t take a lot of effort at all due to only seeing the beautiful side of them. Unfortunately, that isn’t the case, and it takes a lot of effort and struggle to get to the stage everyone wants to be in. This causes a lot of controversy about whether or not you should be in a relationship, depending on where you are in life, such as specific jobs, interests, beliefs, and, most importantly, age. People care a lot about age when it comes to being in a relationship, but why? 

One of the main factors that play a role in age in a relationship is maturity. The maturity level between an adult and a teenager is that they see different perspectives and sides. In a relationship, an adult would handle a situation more maturely, unlike a teenager, who will most likely lose control. An example of this would be if a couple were to get into an argument, the adults would try to fix the problem and consider one another’s perspective and thoughts. When it comes to an argument between a teenage couple, they would instead let their egos get the best of them and resort to breaking up as the “best” option. Shannon Whitmore, an author who loves writing about marriage and family stated, “Relationships are a marathon and teens’ hormones are built for a sprint. Without the maturity that allows adults to persevere when feelings have faded, or a strong, foundational friendship to fall back on, most teenage romances just won’t last.” This, of course, only applies to some, as some teenagers are mature enough and some adults aren’t. “Being in a relationship lets you open a whole new world of perspectives” – Rum Tan. This makes relationships such a good thing if you know what you are looking for in a relationship. 

What if you are mature enough and think that you can handle a relationship reasonably well? Well, that’s when life comes into play. Life is very challenging, but when it comes to interfering with relationships, it can be a lot worse. Every person has a path they want to follow and pursue, which is very important for one’s self-goals and way of living, but it can cause people to separate. For example, if one person in the relationship wants to go to college and pursue their career, they will have to leave home and move away while the other either stays or does the same but somewhere else. This can mess up a lot of relationships because long distance is a very tricky path to go down. This is a very important reason people say to wait until you are older for relationships because you have settled your life and have already lived it. “Today’s teenagers already have so much on their plates, and romances often serve as a distraction from the things that really matter. Plus, many teens struggle with body image and self-confidence, and oftentimes immature romances only add fuel to an already-burning fire” – Shannon Whitmore. When you are younger, you haven’t yet lived your life, and most likely, the both of you will have different paths to take, and you won’t have the time, money, or patience to be with each other. This does not mean that it cannot work. It just means you will have to make many sacrifices to make it work in the end. 

Dating at a young age has its pros and cons. It can expand your horizon with the opposite gender, give you an open mind, and cause stress and drainage. This varies from person to person, but if you are willing to sacrifice for your significant other and go through all the ups and downs, you can make the relationship genuinely last. This takes a lot of determination and perseverance, as there won’t be many people willing to grow with you and go through all the hard times. So yes, I do think relationships can be done at a young age, but it just depends on whether or not you want it to truly work out in the end, and just because you end up splitting with that person does not mean you two won’t cross paths again in the future.