With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, many would say love is in the air throughout the halls of North Little Rock High School. Ask any student at NLR, and chances are they will be able to name at least one couple that seems to represent the perfect dictionary definition of love. Of NLRHS’s many lovebirds, seniors Emma Griffith and Mason Carlan definitely stand out.

Together since May 2017, these two have become a package deal. The two first met their freshman year in Mrs. Thomas’ Civics class, on the second day of school. “My schedule got changed for athletics and I got put in the same class as her, and she said my shirt was cute,” says Carlan. Griffith said that she knew right away that he was “very cute”, but didn’t get to know him until later. Carlan, however, says, “I knew right away that I wanted to be her boyfriend.” 

And now, for almost three whole years, he has been. And he plans to remain just that, despite a quickly approaching graduation, and with that differing pathways for many students. The couple, who have a passion for travelling and the outdoors, plans to be living together in Colorado five years from now. But for now, Griffith and Carlan are just taking life in, enjoying their last few months in the halls of the school that brought them together.

Griffin and Carlan aren’t the only couple who are “#goals”. When it comes to high school sweethearts, seniors Kabrion Ervin and Ayanna Raulston are the ultimate couple. The couple started dating during their freshman year of high school on September 8th, 2016, however, their flame sparked in the summer prior during a camp. “We started texting and I thought he was trying to be my friend,” jokes Raulston. “He didn’t like me at first when I liked him in sixth grade.”

However, after talking for a while, the two took a mutual interest in each other and, as it’s said, the rest is history. “Once I started talking to her and seeing her mental –like how intelligent and good of a person she was– I just knew that we matched because she just gave me those good vibes,” said Ervin.

Raulston agreed that intelligence played a large role in being with Ervin, but she struggles to pinpoint her favorite thing about him. “It’s hard to pick one thing,” explains Raulston. “Maybe how compassionate he is with me. He’s so forgiving. I can’t choose one thing.”

However, no relationship is perfect. When times get tough in the relationship, Raulston explained that talking out issues helps.  “Communication is one of the biggest things in a relationship,” she says. “If you can’t communicate with each other and talk, then there is nothing.”

Ervin agrees: “The main thing in a relationship is working through it and talking it out. You can’t just give up because something is hard.”

Any couple’s worst fear is falling out of love with one another, but Ervin believes the pair will last.

“I don’t want the love to go stagnant,” explains Ervin. “I want to always be in love. To have that bond to where I know I can always go and talk to her.”