We’ve all seen them before: public displays of affection.
We’ve all been slightly bothered by them. We’ve all thought, “It’s sweet that you’re in love, but what’s not sweet is the two of you tickling each other in the hallway while I try to get to fifth period.”
It’s time we bring school PDA to an end. It’s not just a matter of respecting the people around you—it’s a matter of respecting yourself. Each time you get caught smooching it up with your sweetheart in the hallway, you become that kid.
And trust me, you don’t want to be that kid.
We’ve all had the couple that gets a little too intimate next to our locker in the morning, or that couple who’s always engaging in some lip-on-lip contact right outside second period. And look, a peck on the lips isn’t too worrisome. Sure, I would never do it in school, but that’s your own business. My concern lies with the drawn-out PDA—the kind that makes the people around you want to get swallowed up by the earth.
And don’t get me wrong—love is good. Y’all have the right to express your feelings as deeply and as passionately as you want—when you’re not in school. You owe it to yourself and your sweetheart to keep your affection private.
I know my opinion is controversial. Perhaps you’re thinking, “Who the heck is this kid to tell me I can’t express my love in school?” And you’re right about one thing—you have free will. In the words of the existentialist Jean Paul Sartre, “Man is condemned to be free; because once thrown into the world, he is responsible for everything he does.”
With the radical freedom afforded to you by the universe, you have the power not to canoodle in homeroom. You have the power not to make googly eyes at lunch. You’re in the driver’s seat, my friend, and only you can resist! Though I’m sure the temptation is great, you can muster the courage, the patience and the self-respect to postpone your affection for six short hours each day.
The movement starts with you.
