Hello everyone, my name is Alicia Reynolds and during High School I made the decision to wait until marriage to have sex.
In High School it was not difficult to abstain. I was an active participant in my High School’s newspaper (where I later became editor-in-in chief) and I made Honor Roll every quarter my junior year and senior year. I was taking on almost all Honors classes or Advanced Placement classes.I was also ranked number sixteen in my class of 239 students. In high school, I wasn’t thought of as attractive. Guys were never an issue because I was always thought of as a nerd.
In college it was very different. Guys have been very open and clear about wanting to have a sexual relationship with me. It made me test my faith in God and it almost made me give into temptation. I had to draw back on societal views and open up my Bible and pray. This brings me to the purpose of this article and hopefully, it can help others who are waiting until marriage to remain strong as well.
- Don’t make a person feel bad for choosing to remain a virgin. I cannot stress this enough. It is the most frustrating thing. I hate when people do this to me. I have former friends and former love interests who have done this to me. It was so upsetting to be the butt of jokes and to always have my lack of sexual experience pointed out by former “friends” in the company of a guy I liked. If you are my friend or you care about me, then why would my decision bother you?
- Don’t make your friends feel bad if they are having sex. If you are reading this, then you know exactly what I am talking about. I am making the decision to wait, but, that doesn’t make me like my friends any less if they are having sex. The majority of my friends are sexually active. I don’t judge them and they don’t judge me. As long as my friends are safe, I have no problem with what they are doing.
- Surround yourself with people who love you and care about you. Anyone who holds value in your life should be able to respect your decision. I made sure all of my friends were aware of my decision and they all respected me for it.
To all people who are waiting to have sex whether it is due to religious purposes or waiting for the right person, stay strong. There is someone out there for you and no one should be pressuring you into something you don’t want to do.