5. Sidenote: Sex

So, eventually (or even right away) you're going to have to have an important conversation with potential boyfriends/girlfriends. Trust me, you need to. I'm speaking from experience and I am going to be completely honest about it. Men, I know sex feels better without the condom but you could get your woman pregnant and then you will have to face the reality of if you are ready to be a parent or not.

I dated someone right before the new year for about three months. We probably used a condom once. Definitely NOT a smart idea. He gave me chlamydia. For those of you who don't know what that is I've listed the following symptoms:

"In women, the bacteria first infect the cervix (structure that connects the vagina or birth canal to the uterus or womb) and/or the urethra (urine canal). Some infected women have an abnormal vaginal discharge or a burning sensation when urinating. Untreated infections can spread upward to the uterus and fallopian tubes (tubes that carry fertilized eggs from the ovaries to the uterus), causing pelvic inflammatory disease (PID). PID can be silent, or can cause symptoms such as abdominal and pelvic pain. Even if PID causes no symptoms initially, it can lead to infertility (not being able to get pregnant) and other complications later on."

"In men, some infected men have discharge from their penis or a burning sensation when urinating. Pain and swelling in one or both testicles (known as “epididymitis”) may also occur, but is less common.
Chlamydia can also infect the rectum in men and women, either through receptive anal sex, or possibly via spread from the cervix and vagina. While these infections often cause no symptoms, they can cause rectal pain, discharge, and/or bleeding (known as “proctitis”)."
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Luckily, (and thank the good lord) this is one STD that is CURABLE. I definitely learned a hard lesson as things could have been so much worse. That phone call I had to make to tell him about it was one of the hardest things I have ever had to do. The following we week we parted ways...basically he dropped me like a bad habit and just up and quit talking to me. It hurt...I was falling for him hard.

I stayed pretty mad for awhile after that, and then unexpectedly I met someone on the Plenty of Fish (www.pof.com) who has been one of the sweetest guys I have ever talked to. Haven't met him yet but I have a very good feeling about this one and maybe (between you and me) he could be "the one".
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So, in closing if you choose to become intimate with someone please use some form of protection. Be responsible. There is always the risk of contracting a STD that could potentially ruin your life. The ones that I fear the most are herpes and HIV/Aids. I was incredibly lucky with my experience and I plan on getting tested again before I decide to have sex again.
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**STD info taken from http://www.cdc.gov/std/...very informative site. Definitely check it out!!!!!