Mai Atef 
For our age series this time, we wanted to talk about something a little different. Something we're all very aware of but tend to forget from time to time when we're forming opinions about relationships or watching romcoms. That is how our perspective of relationships and love changes from our teens, 20s, 30s and 40s. The more we grow up, experience love and see relationships around us, the more our idea of love completely changes and shifts. Today we're starting with teenagers. We've all been there, first loves, crushes, excitement and sometime even heartbreak, but how do we really see romance and relationships as teens?
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Teenage Love and Relationships
At this stage, we start to become more social and get closer and more personal with people around us whether at school or within any social circle. Communication and friendships get stronger and feelings that are more serious, not just middle school 'crushes', start developing to the point where it really feels like love. The hardest part is actually wondering whether you should tell this person or not, wondering if they feel the same way and being terrified of embarrassment and rejection.
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How do we see love as teenagers?
Sometimes we get confused as to what it is that we're feeling. Is this really love or do I just like the person or is it simply a very strong attraction. Our feelings overwhelm us and it does feel like love and maybe it even is love, because at the end of the day know one can tell if it is or isn't except the person who's feeling it. At this age we might have not had enough experience to be able to tell or compare and understand the different types or forms of attraction and love. As teenagers our feelings are very pure and intense and so our emotions can get the best of us, and logic and reasoning tend to take a side. And so the relationships are fiery and exciting, you really do feel like this is person you're going to spend the rest of your life with, which has been true for some lucky high school sweethearts, and you start building your dreams and aspirations together.
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What teenagers look for in love
To really enjoy love
The most beautiful thing about this stage is that we really just want to enjoy love. It's exciting, new, intense and we want to make the most out of it. We want to spend all our time with the person, talking constantly and wanting to experience everything together. Even jealousy comes into place and we often mistook it as a way to show how much you love the other person.
A commitment to love
At the time we really believe in forever with the person we're dating. They both believe that they can make their love last, which of course if they're lucky they can. But unfortunately, despite their hope and hard work being really beautiful and inspiring, at this age it's hard for us to process and foresee how much people change after high school and that what we want and need now is going to be completely different in a couple of years or even months.
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Facing obstacles together
We all know that as much as love brings a lot of joy, it also brings a lot of problems, even at a young age. We tend to have the 'It's us against the world' approach and we aim and strive to overcome any problems that presents itself or puts a danger to us being together. We also do this beautiful and pure thing where we stand next to each other when someone's going through a rough time, even if we're not really sure what we're doing. It's another way to prove love to each other and the promises we made.
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Does teenage love really last?
Unfortunately most teenage relationships don't last for a long time because we change a lot leading up to our 20s and during our 20s. We develop different interests, different goals and our perception of love and who we get attracted to even changes. However, it is still heartbreaking and just as difficult as any other stage, to accept the end of this relationship, and its impact can stay with us, especially if it's our first real love. However, there are always exceptions. History and time have shown so many cases of teenage love and high school sweethearts that have made it till the end, still as in love and as committed as they were as teens.
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One of the biggest difficulties that teens go through is heartbreak and breakups. It ends up being not just a separation from a person we love, but also a separation from the ideas, dreams and hopes we had drawn for the future. For the first time we realize that sometimes the end is inevitable and what we thought we'd understood about love was not completely what it seemed. It can be a very heavy strain on our mental health, but it is important to try and remember that we're you're feeling now isn't going to last forever. You will change and you will love again, you will want different things from a relationship and you might even look back at this one day and remember it with a lighter heart and a smile on your face.
Main Image Credits: Instagram @loveandwildhearts
