It’s nice to come back home from college after a long, hard semester and seeing your old chaps from high school. Reuniting with them not only brings that magical sparkle of nostalgia to the holidays but also shines a bright reflection on where life has taken us so far this year. One of the most obvious and unavoidable topics we all talk about is sex.
Photo by Charles Deluvio 🇵🇭🇨🇦 on Unsplash
A girlfriend of mine was going on about a new guy she had just met two weeks ago, and how she’s met his parents in just a hot minute. She was hooking up with someone else just a month before, and so I asked her if she ever thought about checking for STDs. Her eyes looked down and her smile faded. She couldn’t believe I had asked her about her sexual health because it’s kind of embarrassing.
Photo by Sharon McCutcheon on Unsplash
Then one of my guy friends said he’s never gotten checked before. He’s never really thought much about HIV, Chlamydia, Gonorrhea and all that comes with changing sex partners. I was dumbstruck. I thought everyone took sex ed to heart, but that’s not often the case in college where fun and cool beats conscious and prepared.
Photo by Hush Naidoo on Unsplash
Health is our most precious wealth, and we shouldn’t let the stigma of sexual health stop us from getting checked every 3 to 6 months. Start the conversation whether or not you think its relevant because it will be. Every girl I know talks about their love life. Every guy I know talks about sex. Everyone I know in-between talks about their guys and girls. It’s not awkward, and it’s nothing to be ashamed of. It’s part of growing up and as we college kids like to say ‘adulting.’
Photo by Miguel Bruna on Unsplash