What does a ‘healthy’ relationship look like?

By Julian G.

If you walk the hallways of CATS, you will notice that there are many couples in relationships. But what does a healthy relationship look like? 

Ms. Tynishia McGraw, Special Education Teacher, said a successful relationship means many things, from sharing common interests to being intentional about spending time together. 

“Just making sure that you put one another first. Not allowing outside people in to have opinions and/or dictate the things that go on inside your relationship,” she said. “Keep it private.”

Mr. Benny Martinez, English teacher, said the keys to a successful relationship means communication and “not being  afraid to tell the truth.”

For 11th grader Naythan T., who is currently in a relationship,  what keeps a relationship going is being able to talk to each other about disagreements.

But what does an unhealthy relationship look like? 

Naythan said that if there is mental abuse or physical abuse “you shouldn’t be around that or with that.”

On the other hand, Ms. Mcgraw shared that unhealthy relationships are often very difficult to leave due to trauma and emotional abuse, which is very difficult to separate yourself from. 

She also said that if that’s happening, “the best thing is to talk to a parent. Be open and honest about these occurrences. Don’t be afraid to tell someone because the help is there, you just have to reach out for it.”

Overall, Mr. Martinez said students should be careful with getting into relationships. 

“The person you’re talking to, take that extra time to talk to them,” he said. “Don’t jump into a relationship right away. Give it time. Get to know their habits or get to know what they like and don’t like.”