As a twenty-something, one of the hardest things to deal with is finding the balance between youth and adulthood. It’s a constant battle between fun and responsibility, carefree and careful. But who says we have to choose one or the other? You can be carefree without being careless.
It’s difficult to become your own person when you still need to go to mom and dad for help sometimes, but nothings wrong with that, right? That’s what college and your twenties are all about: trying new things, meeting new people, gaining independence and learning to take care of yourself as a young woman.
Not to say that nobody knows what they’re doing, but from experience it is easy to see that many young women don’t know where to turn for advice in the more delicate areas of their lives. A particular concern for many young women as they enter college and form new relationships is their sex life, more importantly ensuring their sex health and safety. Obviously the two biggest issues here are pregnancy and STIs. This is one of those topics that may still be hard for some girls to turn to their parents for but they know it’s something that needs attention.
Since the days of middle school health class girls have been told that they need to be responsible for what happens during sex and cannot just rely on the guy. While that’s true., researching contraception options can be overwhelming with all the possible options: the pill, depo-provera (the shot), the sponge, NuvaRing, IUD and emergency morning-after pills. How does one choose which is right for them?
Planned Parenthood provides an online survey that helps users find the best option for them taking into consideration all their concerns. Most MSU students don’t realize that Olin Health Center offers a full women’s clinic featuring contraception counseling with professional guidance and advice to making educated choices. It’s important to realize that most birth control methods don’t prevent STIs and taking precautions like getting tested and using condoms is always important.
The process of choosing the right contraception option may be overwhelming but as we move on and continue to gain our independence it is important that we begin taking care of our bodies and ourselves now. The healthier we live our lives now will only make things easier in the future and take away a great deal of stress and anxiety from the world of unknowns.