I grew up in an era where sex positivity has done nothing but grown, but I’ve also grown up during an era where STI’s and STD’s have gotten worse as well. Being in college, it’s not all that rare for people to have sex. Every weekend when I go out with friends, it seems there are always some people with a singular plan for the evening: find someone to end the night with.

I have nothing against it though. If you want to have sex, have it. Hell, have lots of it if it makes you happy. But there’s only one thing that I have a problem with, people having lots of sex unprotected and unaware. People in my generation are completely unaware of the consequences and possible problems they open themselves up to when they have sex unprotected, without a condom. Let me paint a picture.

You meet someone let’s say from Tinder. They’re attractive, really attractive. Your conversations are flirty and very sexual and you both decide to meet up and have sex. You’re hanging out, everything is getting hot and heavy and it reaches that point. “Do you have a condom?” You don’t have one. They don’t have one. But you went through the trouble of meeting up and you’re so turned on you don’t want to stop. You both decide to continue without the condom. Birth control and the pullout method will just have to do this time.

You part ways.

Sometime down the line, you start to feel funny down there. Something just isn’t right. You go to the doctor and they run STD/STI test. Your results come in and you’ve tested positive for, let’s say, herpes. How? Everything looked normal. They didn’t look like they had anything.

Just because you can't see it doesn't mean it isn't there.

Sure, birth control and the pullout method work against pregnancy sometimes, but not against STIs/STDs. Over 90% of the people who have herpes don’t know they do until they’re tested. The spread of herpes is through unprotected vaginal, anal, and oral sex. Herpes is also spread from mother to child during pregnancy, labor or nursing as well. There isn’t a cure, only treatment, but with the proper treatment, you can live a normal and healthy life.

The important part is to prevent this from happening. Use condoms. Whether you're gay, straight or bisexual... WEAR A CONDOM! Use a dental dam. BE SAFE. There's plenty of places you can get condoms from. Many college campuses have student centers that keep them stocked. There's also planned parenthood. Lastly, there's a government website that will send you condoms for free if you live in Ohio.

Before you have sex, talk to your partner about the last time they were tested. It maybe awkward for a moment but isn't that better than having a disease for the rest of your life?