It’s Sunday morning, and you’ve just woken up in somebody else’s apartment after the sun came up. Half dressed, you fumble around in search of your shirt, keys, and digni- wait, what?

Boo, you don’t have to look for your dignity!

Regardless of the circumstances surrounding your would-be “walk of shame,” it doesn’t have to be an embarrassing experience.

You don't have to slyly walk home with your head down, avoiding all eye contact with passersby lest they know your secret.

You don't have to scurry out of the apartment with only one shoe on and a crooked shirt (and, if you do, fuck it!).

You don't have to spend hours scrubbing the evening off of you so that nobody knows. The walk of shame is not as shameful as we've deemed it, and here's why.

1. You got laid.

If you wanted to get laid, and you did, congrats! If the people involved were all of age, and consenting, why are you stressing about it? A walk home doesn’t take away from the fact that you accomplished what you wanted to physically and/or emotionally. There’s nothing shameful about sex, or your desire for it, don't let your appearance afterward or judgment from people who probably didn't get laid last night tell you otherwise.

2. There's nothing wrong with celebrating your sexuality.

Let's say it again for the people in the back: there's nothing wrong with celebrating your sexuality! This point relates a little to the last one, in that there is absolutely nothing shameful about wanting or having sex. The majority of people on this planet are sexually attracted to some type of human, so it's normal to want this physicality and intimate act as a part of your life.

This includes lady folk, too! There seems to be a misconception that women aren't wired to want sex as often as other genders and has perpetuated the notion that women should be ashamed when people know they have sex (or worse, that they wanted it). If, however, we crush the notion that sex is something to be ashamed of, maybe the idea that liking sex has to do inherently with gender will be done with.

3. Confidence is key—one-night stand or not, sex doesn't make you a bad person.

If you carry yourself with confidence after a night out, the “walk of shame” has nothing on you! You had sex, that’s awesome! Carry yourself like you think so, too. It doesn’t make you a bad person, so don’t think “leaving” makes you a bad person, either. Again, the circumstances of your would-be walk of shame don’t matter. Sex is sex (as long as it’s consensual), and you should feel confident in yourself for gettin’ some.

4. It's just a walk home, nothing more, nothing less.

Think about it as though you’re just taking a mid-morning stroll through your neighborhood because really, that’s all it has to be. Your clothes or hair might be a bit messy, but that really isn’t important when you’re on your way home. People you stroll past can make their own assumptions about your walk, but none of these assumptions matter when you realize it's just a walk home. And, really, when you boil everything down to the nitty-gritty, that really is all you’re doing...why else would it be dubbed the walk of shame?

5. It's 2018, are we really still slut shaming?

Who cares if you just had sex? Who cares if you're a female making the walk of shame? It's 2018—none of this should matter! Slut shaming is ridiculous, and anybody who still partakes in casting judgments onto people because they have and enjoy sex, shouldn't hold importance over your own opinions of yourself.

This idea of a "walk of shame" and the fact that it's cast in such a negative way exists because we've been told that it's okay to shame people for having sex and not keeping it completely hush-hush. Newsflash: obviously a lot of people have sex and enjoy it, or you, me, and all of the multiple children family homes wouldn't be here.