Editor #10
Maintaining a long-term relationship is an amazing feat, especially in high school when we are all so young and are just beginning to gain an understanding of the world. The keys to making these relationships last seem to be honesty and communication, as any relationship counselor would tell you. Open dialogue—comfortably communicating what you feel as well as any problems you have— is vital to a relationship’s success. Without this, the relationship crashes and burns; neither of you can fix the problems if you do not communicate and come to terms with what they are.
If your boyfriend has been distant lately, why not talk to him about it? For all you know, the reason for his distance may be entirely unrelated to your relationship with him. If he were, for example, stressed out about failing a class or concerned about problems at home, he would certainly have a lot on his mind to distract him. You can worry about the reason for his aloof demeanor all you like, but unless you develop mind reading abilities or talk to him, you will never know what is on his mind.
By and large, relationships are often fraught with worries and trials, but sometimes you have to adopt a mature attitude and do what needs to be done. Ask your boyfriend to grab Starbucks with you— perhaps you will find that there are few things that cannot be talked out over a cup of coffee. In all likelihood, your worry is in vain and you have many more happy memories with him ahead of you. If you find that his distance does have to do with your relationship and he wants to break up, it is, as the wise Alfred Lord Tennyson put it, “Better to have loved and lost than never have loved at all.”