There are several different kinds of students in relationships around the halls at Blue Valley Southwest. Some have lasted a while; some have just begun. There are also some between students from different schools nearby, and some where it is considered long-distance. These relationships can truly affect the way certain students live daily.
“I think of a ‘relationship’ as any kind of ongoing interaction between two people,” Counselor Kristi Dixon said. “This includes romantic relationships but also includes friendships.”
Juniors Stephanie Lavigne and Jeffrey Paschal, both attending Southwest, dated since October of their freshman year of high school and just recently in September decided to break up. However, the story behind these two originally getting to know each other was because of meeting in their math and PE classes during their freshman year.
“I got to know him and he was really funny and I felt a connection,” Lavigne said.
They carried on a long lasting relationship, and up until the last months of their relationship things went smoothly.
“This summer, he came with my family to Canada and we drove,” Lavigne said. “It took 27 hours, and we were crowded in my parents’ car, but we had such a blast.”
Toward the end of their relationship things began falling apart.
“We ended up fighting a lot during the last few months we were dating and I really wish I could go back and change the way I acted towards him,” Lavigne said.
Some break ups run smoothly whereas at other times someone’s heart is completely shattered.
“Breakups are extremely hard if you were with someone you truly cared for,” Lavigne said. “But you need to keep yourself busy and spend as much time with people as you can.”
Another relationship going on at Southwest that is not seen in the halls is between junior Mandy Reno and her boyfriend, Chase Sossi, a junior at Blue Valley High School. This couple has been dating for almost a year. When this school year began, it was an obstacle for them to begin at separate schools.
“We can no longer walk to class together, break into each other’s lockers to borrow books or really talk between classes,” Reno said.
Reno continues to enjoy her time spent with her boyfriend, even when facing the challenges of attending different schools.
“[On my birthday] there was a bouquet of balloons and flowers on my porch asking me to his Homecoming,” Reno said.
That evening continued to be one of Reno’s favorites with her boyfriend.
“He took me to Heritage Park with Applebee’s Carside To Go, he laid out a blanket and we just sat and ate our dinner by the lake and the sunset slowly coming down,” Reno said.
The only thing Reno wishes was possible for her and her ongoing relationship with Sossi is to once again go to the same school.
Sophomores Alex Lane and Courtney Schutz are also currently in a relationship here at Southwest. They attended the same middle school but never really began talking until high school.
“We never really knew each other until late freshman year at Blue Valley West,” Lane said.
They have a relationship where they see each other almost every day — whether it’s in or out of school.
“We have advisory together — not any other classes though,” Lane said. “But we live within five minutes of each other so we see each other outside of school around four times within a school week.”
Many high school relationships have different ups and downs.
“The best part of our relationship is that when I wake up and get ready for school, I don’t think about how much my day is going to suck anymore,” Lane said. “I think about who I’m going to see.”