There’s no denying it, CHS. I am a cougar, and I have taken a lot of heat for it, but I stand by my decision. Despite the hate and opposition, there is nothing wrong with this way of life. The population of cougars at CHS has been on the rise lately, especially in the senior class, and there is nothing wrong with that.

 
If a junior boy is seen walking with a sophomore girl, it seems like nothing out of the ordinary. The second a junior girl walks with a sophomore boy, however, whispers spread like wildfire. If junior Robert Gutierrez can hit on sophomores, so can I. In both instances, one person is older than the other, but based on irrational and outdated social norms, it is not okay for the girl to assume the older role. These social norms are completely unreasonable.

 
Age is just a number. If a girl starts talking to a younger guy and develops feelings for him, the fact that he came out of the womb a year later should not affect the relationship. Age does not affect one’s personality, and it does not have to determine the laws of attraction. Not only that, but in high school, the age difference can only be one to three years, so the fuss is over nothing.

Furthermore, I’d rather bring a younger boy to one of my parties than be the adolescent girl at an upperclassmen party receiving dirty looks from older girls. As a cougar, I probably have a few haters in the younger grades, but I can deal with that.

 
If a girl has a relationship with a younger guy and something goes wrong, she does not have to deal with seeing him every day in her classes and at parties.  If Charles Cook and I, both juniors, were ever dating (which is unrealistic because he does not fit into my age requirement of being 13-14) and broke up, I would have to hide from him at lunch, avoid eye contact with him during classes and be careful not to become one of his victims at parties.

 
 If I broke up with a younger boy, however, I would not have to hide from him because I was his only gateway to these parties.

 
The only reason people have a bad opinion about cougars is because they are not exposed to them. Movies and TV shows rarely show a girl being the older one in a relationship, but those who oppose the lifestyle have usually never tried it, making them uninformed judges of whether it is okay.

 
It is perfectly normal to be a cougar, especially in high school. After all, it is better to hunt than be hunted.