Thoughts on Sex, Teenage Pregnancy and Babies

The topic of pregnancy and babies comes up around here often. At my high school it was completely normal to see about ten girls in the school pregnant. It was normal for girls to bring their toddlers to football games with them. The high school down the road had a day care program especially for high schoolers with children. My senior year at least four freshman were sporting a baby bump. Since graduation the trend has hardly quit. There was a baby boom for my class the first year out followed by marriages and many guys joining the military to support the new family. With so much of it going on around me, I've spent a great deal of time thinking it over.

My stance on teenage pregnancy has always been negative. With all the free and easily accessible birth control out there, the likelihood of anybody getting pregnant should be minimal. It's just too easy to walk into the health department and grab a goodie bag of condoms. But things go awry, especially when you're young and horny. And possibly uneducated. Our school had a sex ed class freshman year, but many people were having sex before then and others just tuned out. But I don't think it's a failure on the school's part that kids aren't knowledgeable about sex. I think it's a fault of the parents. I don't know of any parents save my own that spoke often and openly to their kids about sex. Most parents avoided sex until they were forced to acknowledge it, which was usually too late. I was lucky to have parents that were not squeamish about sex. I can't remember any definitive "birds and bees talk" because they were always open, revealing more information as I got older. They never taught me about the proper use of a condom or the effects of STDs, but they did give me valuable information about the nature of sex, something my sex ed class couldn't do. Dad talked to me about the emotional consequences of having sex to early. Mom talked to me about the consequences and choices of her unexpected pregnancy with me. They both talked to me about the maturity required for physical interaction, about the joys of sex, and even the humor of it. We talked about abortion, breastfeeding, one night stands, and first times just like we would about any other subject: openly and without shame.

Sex is not shameful. It should not be tucked away, only to all be brought out on one's wedding night. Sex should not be made into some mystical activity that is either too holy or too filthy to describe. It should be seen for what it is and all consequences considered. Sex cannot be ignored as irrelevant or unimportant. Parents inhibit their children's lives and health when they don't talk about sex. And the results (one in three girls pregnant before 20) speak for themselves.

But what about later on when it's too late? How does one act when there's a pregnancy? Personally, I would have an abortion. There are too many things I want to do in life (including being a parent) that would be jeopardized by raising a child now. I wouldn't consider adoption because I think it would be too much pain to give away a child of mine. For me, the choice to be a parent should be a very purposeful one, not to be taken lightly. I think it impacts your life more than anything else and I want to do it on my own terms.

But what about when a close friend has an unexpected pregnancy? It happened to me recently and I went through a series of emotions: shock, disappointment, excitement, fear, and ease. I think often times when it happens people feel disappointed about the timing, but excited for the child. My hardest thing to overcome was finding a way to support my friend, but not support teenage pregnancy. I think the reason early pregnancies are so prolific these days is that they are condoned by today's culture. Many of my peers are quick to congratulate a young couple on their pregnancy, but I've always been wary about it. I've come to accept that while I may not always agree with my friends' decisions, it's still worthwhile to stand by them in return for their friendship. Their actions serve as a lesson and motivation for me to continue pursuing my values.

Hello Sophomore Year!

Right off the bat I'm going to say that this year is going to be SO SO SO much better than last year. Really. This past week or so back at WKU has been fabulous. I moved out of my horrible brick box dorm (PFT) and into Southwest Hall which has... a bathroom! Yes! My very own bathroom. No more walking in my towel through the hallways and making squishy sounds with my flip flops. The room is also much bigger and has movable furniture, so I was able to put my bed right up against our huge window.





I'm also rooming with my best friend again this year and things are going well. We've gone out to some PJ events together and she loved meeting my PJ friends. There's a benevolent atmosphere among everybody right now and I hope it stays.

I'm already working on my first gallery show due to be opened in about two weeks. The show will feature multimedia and stills taken from a special projects class last year that focused on the issue of immigration in Bowling Green. I'm also on staff for the Talisman, WKU's yearbook. Being so involved in PJ stuff has put me back on the fence about whether to stay in the major or switch, but I'm hoping to have it resolved this semester.

Outside of photojournalism I'm taking a children's literature course, which has really peaked my interest. The bulk of the work is around a reading journal which examines works from several genres of children's lit. The final project is to set up an lesson plan (kind of) with an annotated bibliography of 15 books, all centered around on major topic. I'm not really interested in some of the suggested themes, like weather or sports. The constitution or Renaissance has crossed my mind, but more on that later in the semester. I got into modern dance with my roommate and am really excited! The class requires a leotard and tights, and it's the last class in a back-to-back class schedule, so I think I'll be rocking a leo under a skirt/dress/jeans for most of the semester. That should be interesting. Photos to come. I'm also trying out for autumn dance company to get a taste of what scheduling will be like later in the program. I'm still undecided about minoring in dance. If not, I found a great little studio downtown that offers classes after class.

I'm a bit surprised by how much is going on this semester. It all just happened the first week, but I'm up for the challenge and happy to be doing better this year. :)