Young love.

Do you ever get all sentimental about the thought of young love? Ever smile quietly to yourself as you think about a pair of young people finding each other in this troubled world? Does a warm feeling come over you as you imagine them giving each other strength as they face the world's problems? I know I do.

And then I look outside. Poof! Like magic that warm feeling vanishes like summer wages. Driving to work I see a young couple walking down the street. The young lady telling about her plans to go to college in the fall. How she feels that life is about to get a lot better, and how he means so much to her. And he, he is texting on his cell phone. Gah!!!

Or the other time, I see another the young couple, this time with a baby in the stroller. Though many influences tried to get them to do otherwise, they had the baby and will do their best to look after it. The mother lovingly pushes her baby, ever now and then talking to it gently. She looks at the father and smiles happily. And he, he is half a block ahead on his BMX bike.

Now I'm not saying that this problem is only prevalent in guys, I just have seen these examples, though I am sure something of the reverse has happened many times.

My point is that sometimes young couples are so unromantic that it's painful to watch. I know that if I ever have a girlfriend, you can bet I will not be texting on my cell phone (this being a possibility only if I ever actually acquire a cell phone). And if my possibly future wife and me ever take our hypothetical child for a stroll, I most certainly will walk with them.

This is I think, the result of kids dating at way too young of age. While I am not really much more than a kid myself, I count this as one of many good examples why people should not get involved until they are adults. If a person is going to act like a kid and ignore his/her significant other during their alone time, then he/she should not have started dating in the first place.

If I might be so bold as to make the claim, I think today's society is as much to blame as anything else. Kids get the message sent to them via media and entertainment that dating is cool and should be done ASAP. Why, I remember when I worked at the library that a 10 year old (or maybe younger even) thought he had a girlfriend. This idea leads to many problems, not least of which is the entire premarital sex issue. I would like to believe that if people would hold off on relationships until they are mature adults, then less premarital sex would happen. Granted, this wouldn't by far solve the problem, but that’s getting a bit off track. Where was I?

Now I am not saying that dating in high school is completely and necessarily bad. I won’t and can’t say that it will end badly. I won’t even say that there is any moral issue here. I could find it quite acceptable for people to date, IF, if they are mature enough to properly manage the situation. Far too many kids do not mature until well after graduation. Heck, if my drunken neighbours are any sort of example, maturity can take a long time after high school to appear. So basically what I am saying is this: Kids, stop "dating" until you are old and mature enough to fully comprehend what you are doing, so you can do it properly.