My husband and I have been married for 3 years this month, and in October we are expecting our first child!!!! What an exciting time for us! We are looking forward to this new adventure with such joy and excitement. I don’t think raising a child is ever easy, however, we have been waiting and planning for this time and are looking forward to all that this new season will bring with it. I am trying to read about pregnancy and babies, plan for the new baby’s room, and finish projects in our home before the baby comes. I honestly can’t imagine doing all of this without the love and support of my wonderful husband.
I think children are a blessing, period. But I also think that waiting until we were financially stable and in a committed, stable marriage will help Ben and I tremendously when raising our child(ren). We all want the best for our children and I think that waiting to have sex until you’re married is the best way to ensure that you won’t have a child before you’re “ready.” We were able to be excited about this baby from the very moment we found out we were expecting – there was no worry or stress, no going through our options of keeping the baby, giving it up for adoption, or having an abortion, we were simply thrilled and overjoyed at the news.
Enjoy your teenage years. Enjoy your young adult years. And when you’re ready – enjoy your marriage to the fullest!!! And then, enjoy the season of expecting your first child without unnecessary worry – as I am currently doing! As always – I hope for the BEST in each of your lives!!!
~Carrie Harrell
PROUD TO WAIT SACRAMENTO
Every journey starts with a step!
Each and every day is another chance to make a difference in your life and someone else’s life! I know in my life there have been a number of times when I’ve realized that it’s time to make changes in the way I live and more importantly in the way I treat others. What I have learned is that it’s important to recognize that sometimes our greatest glory is not that we never fail, but that we can start fresh each day, get up and try again!
I truly believe that life is a journey and the paths that we choose ultimately create our destiny. One of my favorite Oscar Wilde quotes is, “I am not young enough to know everything.” This quote sticks with me as I get older because I realize there is more and more about life that I just don’t understand! Part of growing up is continuing to mature and as I get older I continually come to the realization that every small opportunity is often the beginning of a great adventure!
So, as you start each adventure the real question is how do you achieve the most that you can and more importantly, how do you have the greatest positive impact on others? In my opinion, I think there are many things that are crucial to having successful life, and the most important aspects of life are having healthy relationships and living a life that is truly fulfilling! I will say this though, be careful, because one guaranteed way to failing in your life is trying to please everybody else. I think it seems like common sense but sometimes we can forget that the first step to getting what we want in life is to decide what it is, that you want! So take some time to decide what you want from life and take the first step on that journey today!
JAKE TIRABASSI
PROUD TO WAIT ORANGE COUNTY
Teen Dating Violence is an issue that is rarely spoken of but unfortunately is occurring more and more. “One recent national survey found that about 1 in 10 female high-school students and about 1 in 11 male students said they had been hit, slapped, or physically hurt on purpose by their boyfriend or girlfriend in the past year” (SafeYouth.org) We all love the idea of being in love and having someone to share our everyday with but recognizing a healthy relationship and building those healthy relationship skills is imperative.
Fortunately, I was never in a relationship where I felt any type of abuse, verbal, emotional and/or sexual and hope to never be in one. Yet, growing up in an abusive environment, where I witnessed for most of my childhood, domestic violence between my parents, definitely gave me a first hand experience on what a healthy relationship is versus a non-healthy relationship. The basics of any healthy relationship are respect, trust, loyalty, honesty and overall friendship. Every relationship we experience will be different but all must have the key components or without them there is no relationship. As love will be different for all but common characteristics such as the ones mentioned above are necessary to let love grow and harmonize a relationship.
If you find yourself to be a victim of an abusive relationship or know someone who is, and remember abuse is not just physical, then do your best to speak up and get help. As I once read, “treat the person you date as you would want your future wife/husband to be treated by their current date.” Our behavior is learned and negative behavior will continue to hurt not just us but those who will be with us in the future, if we do not take a stand for change now. Respect from others comes when you respect and love yourself first. Through our program, we talk about preventing early sexual activity before marriage but it’s not just about sex. Abstinence is about empowering yourself in order to make those healthy choices that help in strengthening your character. How are you going to understand the depth of marriage if you are unable to comprehend the basics of a healthy relationship and developing the necessary relationship skills to enjoy a healthy marriage? What are your ideas of a healthy relationship and a healthy marriage?
Jessica Guerra
Manager Proud To Wait
Los Angeles
If you are familiar with the “Jerk movement”, then you probably already know who the new boyz are. They are a hip-hop music group that is rating the charts amongst teens today. Recently, they released a song called, “Tie me down.” Look at a portion of their hit song:
“No I’m not going make a scene,
But you cant tie me down like a pair of shoe strings,
Yea you cute. so what?,
But lets get it through your head,
Yea we make love, sex, weed all in the bed,
Its the best thing I love about you,
But things don’t change,
When I’m not faithful,
You be feel’in all pain,
Now you stuck like a stain and i cant believe that,
Baby girl want hundreds i ain’t tryn’a do that,
Got so many girls and i ain’t lett’in go,
Cause my life is great,
And you ain’t nothing but a ……She ain’t gone tie me down”
As popular as the song is today many young men and women find themselves drawn to the urban style and message of promiscuity. It is no surprise to find teens engaging in sexual activity- However, what is becoming more and more acceptable in today’s generation of youth is casual sex. As we see in the song and in life, many people are always about one thing: Self-gratification. As more and more people agree with the message of promiscuity, the dangers and consequences rise as well.
When a person becomes sexually active and starts to have multiple sex partners the risk of contracting an STD becomes higher. According to a recent Statistic 50% of sexually active Americans between the ages of 15-24 have an STD. Sadly; many people are not aware of the risks that come with Sex. Of course, it is always easier to believe that it can not happen to me and that the risks are not that threatening. Nevertheless, the epidemic of STD’s continue to skyrocket. For instance, every year 4 million teens contract an STD. That is 10,959 a day, 457 an hour and 1 person every eight seconds. To narrow it down a little further one in every four girls ages 15-19 have: HPV, Chlamydia, Herpes, or Trichomoniasis. That is 25% of females!
Although marriage is not something many teens talk about, it is shown in a report that 82% of teens actually do desire to have one marriage partner. The significance about having one partner can be more rewarding in a relationship. When a person involves them self in polygamous relationships it is always about satisfying their self. Moreover, in experiencing sex in the measure of marriage it can be something that is more fulfilling. Sex in marriage can create levels of depth. Due to the mutual foundation of trust and love, there will generally be a more meaningful experience. It is because Sex that is being engaged in a marriage looks past self pleasure. There is always something beyond ones own fulfillment that creates satisfaction for both partners.
At the end of the day, it is almost like that cliché, “Why settle for less when you can have more.” If you have ever trained for anything in life whether it was for sports or achieving awards there is always that satisfaction that comes from hard honest labor. That is kind of how sex is; it can be most fulfilling when it is cared for right. Some people will still choose to take the shortcut and end up with less then best. Think about it!
-Rebecca Fielding 
