The lights are dimmed. They walk toward the meticulously made bed, their hands clutched and their arms slightly swinging. She sits down first and he follows suit. Their hands still holding tight, they begin the talk that no one really wants to have. Seniors Alexandra Martinez and Walter Galindo have been dating for about three months and the “Where is our relationship going?” conversation was not any easier for them to have than it was for a couple who had been dating for a year.

Martinez plans on attending Collin County Community College to figure out what she wants to do with her life and improve her grades while Galindo wants to become an electrician.

“I’m set on being an electrician,” Galindo said. “I’m either going to college for it or joining a specific trade school type of thing just for that, and my teacher is going to help me get into it.”

Galindo pursuing his education will inevitably put space between him and Martinez. She places a lot of importance on the relationship they have and has said that Galindo has done so much more for her in three months than her other friends and even family have.

“I feel like if anyone can change me for the better, it’s him,” Martinez said. “He’s the first person to make me feel good and happy in a while. In the little time we’ve been together, he’s done more for me than anyone had in the last four years of my life. He’s just so special to me and I care about him a lot. He’s my person, you know?”

Martinez describes their relationship now as healthy, but not without arguments.

“In our eyes our relationship is really strong,” Martinez said. “We fight like everyone else does, but unlike other guys, Walter’s not one to keep things to himself. He’s not scared to talk to me about his feelings or how a specific event made him feel toward me or anything like that.”

Their ability to communicate openly with one another is a large part of what gives them confidence in how their relationship will fare during their time apart.

“It will be hard if we end up in different states, but we know we’re definitely going to try,” Galindo said. “The hardest thing would be if I decide to play soccer.”

Earlier in Galindo’s high school career, he decided to try out for a soccer team but ended up staying in Texas for the convenience of graduation. Now that high school is coming to a close, the soccer gates might be opening for him.

“When I was 16 I tried out for a semi-pro team in Honduras and made it, but my mom didn’t let me commit to it because I would’ve had to stay in Honduras,” Galindo said. “My mom thought I was too young and should finish school here instead. If I get back in shape and decide to try out and make it, then I’d be moving down there.”

Martinez said they have recently sat down and talked about this as a possibility for the future of their lives and their relationship since this would be the hardest situation for the both of them.

“He started out by just asking me ‘Would you go with me?’ but then he saw how much my younger sister and nephew mean to me. He started adding, ‘I mean I would understand if you wouldn’t because your family is here and we’re really young…’ and my response stayed the the same,” Martinez said. “Right now, in this moment, at this age, no. It’d be hard for me to drop everything I’m doing and just pick Walter over my family, especially since we’ve only been dating for a couple of months.”

The possibility of a long-distance relationship is something that they have come to terms with.

“We would just have to try and work it out long distance – she’d come visit me, I’d come back here,” Galindo said. “But I understand that Alex wouldn’t just pack up and go with me.”

Although moving in with each other is not their go-to answer, they are hopeful that in only a few years they will be ready for that step.

“If Walter were to [go to Honduras and play semi-pro soccer] when we were a little older, maybe even just two or three years, I’d go with him,” Martinez said. “We’d be in our 20’s and far enough into our relationship to trust that moving in together was a good decision. We wouldn’t have to worry about the relationship maybe not working well enough to be living together or anything like that.”