Let me first put a disclaimer here; this is strictly my opinion and not the opinion this site. 

As hormones dictate, a normal teenage may at some point during his or her time in secondary school develop feelings of the "buterfly kind" for another, in or outside the school term. That's the obvious bit, but it's not the focus of my article. I wonder what effect these humble, probably even innocent feelings have on the average high schooler. So I will dwelve back into my memory for one such experience.

When I entered secondary school, I was still in denial, trying to ignore the obvious differences between boys and girls in the vain attempt to pay equal attention or in my case disregard for both sexes. This "buterfly effect" gradually creeped up on me and by the time I was in senior three, I was involved in a budding romance with a young girl, that every once in a while I flash back (especially when that "Hey Suzie" coke advert plays on radio) and find my myself laughing. This youthful infatuation was so all consuming that there were days when evening preps felt like toture if the object of my affections was not within eyeshot. Eventually it ended and well, for a first try attempt at sailing the waters, it was quite an experience though at the end of the that term which was the third term of the year, relief was securing promotion to the next class by the "skin of my teeth."

The lesson I learnt was pretty plain; A succesful balance between active emotional engagement and academic effort is not a skill that comes naturally to all. To some, one or the other will suffer, and for others both will thrive alongside each other but essentially it comes as one of those decisions that you don't come to by the bandwagon or by the heart. But it is a decision that requires careful thought and consideration.

Sometimes it is better to pause one and pursue the other, in which case the one to pause is the emotional engagement There will always be another opportunity to fall in love and be comfortable, but you will never be comfortable as the "old man of the class" if you paused the academic endeavour for a romantic one. Studies have shown the the number of relationships started in the early and mid teen years that actually last five years or more are well below the 50% and statistics don't lie, they simply tell a story that many had ignored.

But like all things in life, the choice is yours, this is just my humble opinion.

The writer is an electrical engineer by profession and works as a Patent examiner at the Directorate of Intellectual Property.