Love is everywhere. Love encompasses a strong range of positive emotions and can never seem to be pinpointed down to one thing. Whether it’s love between friends, family, partners, or spouses – it’s unavoidable. So, what is love and how do different people express it?

Brian and Brooke Kells 

“[Love] is when someone can make you smile, but also drive you insane at the same time,” Digital media teacher Brian Kells said. “But you’re always going to look for it every day. Which is weird, but I think that’s love in and of itself,” 

Mr. Kells has worked at the school since the bricks were laid down, and his wife English teacher Brooke Kells recently joined him in working as a teacher at the school. They have a son in fourth grade named Brayden and have been married since 2009.

“When we first started dating more seriously I took a girls trip away from [him] and I felt like part of me was missing because I wasn’t with [him].” Mrs. Kells said. “I just feel like I’m not really myself and even though we drive each other crazy you just can’t be away from that other person.” 

While love is a beautiful thing, it is of course not without its struggles and differences. The couple balances each other beautifully with Mrs. Kells more high-strung energy and Mr. Kells more chill and calm energy. 

“Sometimes it’s hard for me to get a word in edgewise,” Mr. Kells said. “It’s funny because most people consider me a talker, but then I married my wife who really likes to talk.” 

The ability to continue a loving relationship and overcome the difficulties is what makes love so powerful. Sometimes being in love with someone doesn’t mean that everything is perfect; sometimes it’s about loving each other unconditionally, despite any frustrations. 

Ashlyn Kimmel and Aaron Hernandez

The seniors started dating after getting closer to each other when they started training for their after school job. Even though they work together and attend school together they still feel like they never have enough time in a day to see each other because of school, sports and work. 

Despite busy schedules, they are still able to spend quality time together whenever they can. Whether it’s at work, or watching movies on a date the couple is able to form fond memories with each other.

“My favorite memory is being in the car with him and he sings to me.” Kimmel said. “It is a hardship working all of the time and having school and [trying] to find somewhere in between to hang out with each other outside of that.”

Even with these bumps in the road, the two of them have been able to bring out the best in each other through their similarities and differences. 

“She is very genuine and brutally honest which is my favorite thing about her,” Hernandez said. “She’s outgoing and that makes me more confident in myself.”

Ethan Diaz and Dayna Barroso

Seniors Ethan Diaz and Dayna Barroso love to have a cozy night in spending quality time together. The couple loves to spend time baking, having lightsaber battles, and talking about their other common interests such as Star Wars, mythology, and history. 

“We bake, we can walk around in my neighborhood or his neighborhood. As long as I can spend time with him and have fun with him, that’s all that matters to me,” Barroso said

Diaz and Barroso have been friends since the first grade, but it was not until freshman year of high school when a cute little note changed it all, and since then the couple has spent almost three years together.

“At the end of lunch, he gave me a note and he was like ‘here and read it’.” Barroso said. “It was this nice small cute note. He asked me if I wanted to be his girlfriend and I said yes. I gave it back to him at the end of gym and basically, at the end of the 7 periods, we started dating,” 

Their relationship was not free of hardships either. Because of the pandemic, the couple spends more time apart than they are used to, and did not get to spend their two-year anniversary due to quarantining. At the start of the new school year Barroso chose to be a live student while Diaz attended in-person classes. Because of this, it has been hard for them to see each other more than twice a month, but they make up for the distance by long phone calls and daily check-ins.

 “[To me] Love is strong compassion towards somebody where you care abogut them every second of every day, or you always check up on them,” Diaz said.