Discussing Love; both Tainted and Pure – West Valley Discusses Relationships

Asking the question that has plagued poets from Shakespeare to Haddaway, West Valley one n ten asked “What is love”, “What is a relationship”, and “What do you look for in a relationship”? Assembled to lead the group’s discussion on the subject was a panel of “experts” – the West Valley Volunteers, who began the evening by defining what a relationship is for the group so everyone had the same idea what constituted a relationship. The panel then went on to briefly share what they look for in a relationship; from communication and respect, trust and honesty, support and equality, and accepting and allowing for a separate identity.

The panel then went on to share some of their best and worst experiences in relationships, before turning the discussion over to the youth, who shared some of their own experiences of past relationships, before asking the panel follow up questions related to their stories. The questions wrapped with stories related to good breakups vs bad ones, experiences with first love and perceived soulmates, and the possibilities of long term same sex relationships. It was a deeper topic than most nights, but allowed the youth to not only gain a better perspective of relationships in general, but to connect with the volunteers who they see every week, on a more personal level, and feel comfortable approaching in the future on the subject.