2005 Abstinence Essay Contest 1st Place

Ashley Smith, a 9th grader at Eastern Wayne High School is recognized by Mr. James Roosen, Health Director (left) and Jeffrey Kornegay, Board of Health co-chairperson (right). Ashley will be a rising sophomore at Eastern Wayne High School in the 2005-2006 school year.

She received a $100 gift certificate to Berkeley Mall, $5 gift certificate to McDonalds, a T-Shirt that says "I'm worth waiting for", and a certificate of Recognition for 1st Place.

ABSTINENCE

Most teens in the United Sates of America have had an abstinence speech eloquently presented to them by teachers, coaches, or one of the many staff members of their schools. But what is abstinence? Most people conclude that abstinence is abstaining from something such as food, drugs, alcohol, or sex. Sexual abstinence is what most people focus on. However that does not stop many people from participating in such activities.

What most teens have come to realize as they grow and mature is that there are always consequences for their actions. Most teens also come to realize that if they participate in sexual activities that the consequences can be life changing and devastating. People think that since they use protection that they somehow have this immunity to the consequences, that they are somehow exempt. That can be one of the biggest mistakes of their lives.

The most common consequence that emanates from sexual activity other than sexually transmitted diseases is adolescent pregnancy. This can be both life changing and devastating. Adolescents at this age think that they can handle a child, but what they do not realize is that it is a full time responsibility, requiring their time, energy, money, and life. That child, once it enters this world becomes their first priority. So what do you do to prevent these life changing consequences from coming into effect? You abstain. Sure, using protection can prevent some things, but it doesn't always work.

We as teenagers are often engrossed in feeding our emotions, our feelings. Males are known for being walking hormones and females for being easily susceptible to flattery. We have these human desires that are alive and well within us, but as teenagers we sometimes do not know how to handle them, so we give in. We give up all our morals and values that have been taught to us throughout our childhood, just for one moment of pleasure. What is it really worth?

Is having sexual intercourse before marriage really worth having a baby that may have to suffer because of someone else's choices? Is it really worth putting away all your hopes and dreams in a keepsake box deep within your heart that will always leave you wondering what if? Can we really not abstain from those few moments of pleasure in order to make a better future for us and our fixture children? Do we not have enough self control to say no? What is going to become of this world then, a bunch of broken families that will have to suffer because of two people's decision?

That is why, for our sake, our future families sake, and for our future children's sake that we abstain from sexual activities. Sure, it is going to be hard, nothing worth having is ever easy, but it is a wise decision, a decision that will make a person wise beyond their years. We all have plans. We all have dreams and we all want to succeed at life. So is it reasonable to say that sexual abstinence is one of the best ways to prevent pregnancy, to prevent sexually transmitted diseases, and to keep our dreams insight? Yes, it is.

Therefore we can conclude that if we abstain from sexual intercourse and other activities that we can ensure a better future for ourselves, our families, our future spouses, and our future children.