www.federalwaymirror.com
June 19, 2015 [29]
[ JOHNSON from page 6]
I hope that you’ll think carefully about what you do want to do, what is OK with you, and what you don’t want to do, what you’re not ready for and what is not OK with you. Should you choose to engage in any behavior that carries risk of pregnancy or disease transmission (i.e., oral sex, anal sex, vaginal sex, or genital contact with someone with certain diseases), I hope you will insist on using protection. Remember that the methods of contraception that do the best job preventing pregnancy don’t do a darned thing to prevent sexually transmitted diseases. Use condoms. Use condoms. Use condoms. The most common symptom of a sexually transmitted disease is no symptom, and unfortunately for you, one in four youth your age have one, and most don’t know it. Not knowing you have a sexually transmitted disease does nothing to keep it from being passed on, though, so be sure you and your partner get tested. And did I mention you should use condoms? You probably have people in your life who want you to wait to have sex. That’s because they care about you, and they know how much an unplanned pregnancy, disease, or nasty break up can mess up your life. But you’re graduating, and all of us adults who care about you won’t be with you while you make a lot of your decisions. Sure, you can call us, but we won’t be chaperoning you at every party or on every date or in every potentially compromising situation (thank, goodness, right?). What I hope for you is that you will think about all this and make the best choices you can. What I hope for you is that you know that sexual behavior should always be your choice. You can say no whenever you don’t want to, and you deserve to be listened to. No one should ever take this choice away from you. Likewise, you also have the responsibility to listen to what another person does and doesn’t want and to respect that. I hope that you will think about all this now, before you head off on your next adventure. I hope you will think about what you want, and what you don’t want. And I hope you will be true to yourself and not compromise who you are for anyone else.
Amy Johnson, MSW, is a trainer, educator and coach in the Pacific Northwest. Amy can be reached at comments@ diligentjoy.com.
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32014 32nd Ave S Federal Way, WA 98001
Phone: 253-874-7107
Fax 253-874-1923
32014 32nd Ave S Federal Way,Ave WAS 98001 Phone: 253-874-7107 Fax 253-874-1923 32014 32nd Federal Way, WA 98001 Phone: 253-874-7107 Fax 253-874-1923