Building relationships requires many steps in successful bonds

By Katie Mauss

Everyone is in a relationship, whether it is that you’re part of a family, in a friendship or dating someone. Regardless, these relationships need to be good for both parties, not one-sided or harmful. Here are some things that make good relationships.

1. Communication

The first thing that you need to be able to do in a relationship is communicate. Arguments are a huge problem that ends relationships. To overcome this problem, you should listen to both sides of the argument and make a compromise. You should also make sure that you can talk to your partner about anything. Freshman Dalton Blackford said, “A good thing about our relationship is that we talk to each other about our problems and are there for each other.”

2. Keep other people in your life

Something that a lot of couples and friends do wrong is that they isolate themselves from other people and only hang out with their small group. If you abandon all your other friends, you won’t have the support group that you had before. Just because you hang out with this person or people a lot doesn’t mean that they are the only people in the world. Some neutral things that you can do to include everyone are going to parties or large events, going to movies and going shopping.

3. Equal representation

In your relationship, each person needs to have an equal representation. What that means is that there is no dominant partner. One key identifier of an unhealthy relationship is that one person feels like a lesser being than the other. This usually falls to the female, but males can also be underappreciated. You can fix this by thinking of the other person while you make decisions that affect you, as well as asking for opinions on things. If you notice that someone disagrees, don’t dismiss it, think of it as an idea from a real human being.

4. Pick-me ups

Everyone feels down at at least one point in their lives, and part of any good relationship is making sure that your friend or partner is happy about the relationship and life in general. When your loved ones are feeling down, ask them what you can do to help. It may sound cheesy, but in reality, it can make a big difference. If you notice that they are putting themselves down, try to encourage them. The effect that it has on both your feelings and the other persons is colossal. Regarding her friends, freshman Devin O’Loughlins said, “Sometimes they say bad things about themselves, which makes me sad because I wish that they thought they were as awesome as I think they are.”

5. Value the relationship

Putting a high importance on your relationship makes a huge difference in the way that you and your partner cycle in the relationship. If you make sure that you treat the relationship carefully and consider the outcome of every decision that you make in this relationship, then you will have a healthier interaction with this person. One way to test this is if you just get generally happier when they walk in the room. Owen Ausborn, an eighth grader said, “I love everything about them. I just enjoy when their around.”

So, when in any sort of relationship, it is important to know that time, distance and status of the relationship has nothing to do with the real value of the relationship. As freshman Elise Markham said, “A healthy relationship is not necessarily about the length of the relationship, but if both people are being made happier through the relationship.”

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