In Response to "Condoms and Such" by dbeschoner.blogspot.com

Generally, my generation loves to defy authority, especially when this 'authority' is prohibiting a natural act of nature. Sex. Not only is premarital sex inevitable it is discouraged by society. When teens are told not to do something, it only heightens their thirst for that something, in this case, sex.

Premarital sex rates are not only high in America, but the riskiness of these sexual acts is also increasing.

Recent studies show that only 18% of sexually active high school students use birth control pills before sex. I blame these startling statistics on the abstinence only education. By telling students that abstinence is the only way, they're knowledge of safe sex practices are limited. While it's true that the only way to truly be 'safe' is to not participate in sexual intercourse at all, more often then not, the heat of the moment catches up with 'abstinent' teenagers.

Not only is abstinence education hindering teen education on safe sex practices, but it is also pushing them to engage in sexual acts other than vaginal sex because it 'does not technically break their virginity'. Teen ages 12 to 17 who had abstinence education defined "abstinence" to include many sexual behaviors while avoiding vaginal intercourse and 70% of teens 15-17 have engaged in oral sex. So, as long as the hymen is in place, they are still a virgin. This is what 'abstinence education' is teaching this generation's teenagers.

As a teen of this generation, seeing and hearing the true facts of sex, not the statistics, just emphasizes how much we need safe sex education. Even parents agree with this, knowing that no matter how much they emphasize abstinence, premarital sex is bound to happen
85% of parents of 7th to 12th graders say it is important that their child learn about how to use condoms as part of sex education.

Although the abstinence education forces teens to make a 'virginity pledge', the pledge only delays initiation of sexual intercourse, as research says, by 18 months. But, these pledged virgins are one-third less likely to use contraception at first sex than non-pledging peers.

twloha

I've been struggling to determine what I want this blog to be about. Coming into this with only one idea, was not the best strategy. So I have determined that this blog will not be set to just one subject. It will be random and at times pointless; which is appropriate since that parallels my life.

With that said, I'll move to the actual reason for the blog post.

http://www.twloha.com/vision/

visit this website. this 'charity' means more to me than i thought possible, and every time i read Renee's story i cry. im sure that most of you in the world know a little bit what it feels like to be depressed, and for those of you that don't, im glad for you. but without that feeling it is hard to appreciate the 'good' times. twloha is an amazing accomplishment.

rather short post. better stuff soon.
-ncw

Music at its best...or worst?

A thought occurred to me as I was driving home thirty minutes past curfew flipping through the only three acceptable radio stations my town has: mainstream music has become a pandemic, and not in a good way. On two of the radio stations tht claim not to be "corporate" radio, the same song was playing. And to make it worse, the song was Lady Gaga's latest.

"Let's have some fun, this beat is sick. I wanna take a ride on your disco-stick."

First of all, is she (though that pronoun is debatable) allowed to make such an unveiled reference to a penis? I remember when 'mix your milk with my coco puffs" was extremely controversial. And now she can come in and say 'disco stick'?

But back to my original thought: "Are people really so musically brainwashed that the only thing they will listen to are radio stations that play the same songs on a loop?"

Why not through in some music that is actually played, not computer generated and digitally altered? For example, what ever happened to music that actually meant something.

Like the Beatles. They got it right: "All you need is love", "I wanna hold your hand", and "In my darkest hour, mother Mary, come to me, speaking words of wisdom, let it be."

Like Belle and Sebastian. They will never conform. I can always count on them to create powerful, poetic lyrics and couple them with chilling melodies. "Elope with me, Miss Private, and we'll sail around the world. I will be your Ferdinand and you my wayward girl. How many nights of talking in hotel rooms can you take? How many nights of limping around on pagan holidays?Oh, elope with me in private and we'll set something ablaze. A trail for the devil to erase." Beautiful.

Why can't the radio stations play more songs like those?