Going to a Christian college, I think it's expected for young people to remain a virgin until marriage. This is seen as “what God wants.” Many people follow through wanting to please their God and uphold their religious beliefs; Or, rush into the pressured "Ring by Spring" phenomenon. Sex is between a person or a couple and their God — they make a personal sacrifice to follow their holy leader.

But, for me, sex is something different. I firmly believe that sex is an act of love between two people. And, if I were to fall in love with a man, my love would hopefully turn into a child. Sounds crazy, right? Bare with me.

I've never been in love. Or, I've never invested in someone so much that I saw a perfect future with them. This love is what I like to call superficial. And to me, the act of sex is not superficial at all. Sex is a personal and emotional relationship reaching a physical one.

I honestly don't know where my views on relationships came from. I didn't follow religion too much, and when I did, I never felt in place but that's a different story. So sex has nothing to do with God and all that stuff, nor did it have to do with my upbringing where the people around me were a-okay with premarital sex. I never thought that I would have sex before marriage. Even when I was young as 13 before I even knew the full process of the act.

To many of my sexually active friends, my beliefs on abstinence is mocked as having to do with my religious beliefs. Even if this was true, it is not cool to mock anyone for their beliefs merely because they stray from yours. That being said, although my truth on premarital sex is different from my friends, coworkers, and even family, I am confident I can keep them. This promise I made to myself is at the heart of who I am. I am waiting for marriage, and I am proud of myself for it.

This article is in no way trying to degrade people who have sex outside of marriage. If it makes you happy, then by all means, go for it.