LADIES LISTEN UP!!!!
Ladies please listen to me because I’m here to tell you my story.
My 11th grade year was a happy one. I was 16 years old and loving life. I loved school and sports. That was my life. Soon entered boys. My mother warned me against the sweet words, pretty lips, and strong arms of a man. And I listened to her. I really did.....that is until one day in February. I remember the month because I was supposed to be at choir practice for the Black History Program at my school. But instead I let this one particular boy whisper sweet nothings in my ear. He asked me over one day after school and before I knew it my shirt was off and my pants were somewhere lost in the tangle of sheets. As I lay there I found myself thinking "Thank God he had protection".I was actually ashamed of myself. I couldn't believe I had let myself fall into that predicament.
So my senior year came and I actually found someone that I deeply cared about. After some time being with my current boyfriend, we had a long talk about sex and we decided we should give it a try. I went to my mom and asked for Birth control. She said she would take me to the clinic because I would have to have a pap smear first.
I was verrrrrrrrrrrry nervous. But to my surprise it didn't even hurt and it was quick!! But all that happiness soon faded when my test came back abnormal..........
When I went back to the doctor, she told me I had HPV. I'm sitting there the salutatorian of my class with a 4.0 GPA, and I did not know what HPV was. What I couldn't (and still can't) understand was why I had contracted the virus when we used a condom.....................
Turns out HPV, or Human Pamplona Virus, is the leading cause of cervical cancer in women. It has no symptoms in males and virtually no symptoms in females. You can go symptom free for years, or in my case a year. The only reason I became aware of my situation was because I had a pap smear. There are several strands of HPV but only a very small amount of them actually cause Cervical Cancer. I was one of the lucky ones.
I had to make about 3 more trips to the doctor. And as of today I am HPV FREE!!! Ladies and Gentlemen please take heed to this, get yourselves checked out at least once a year. I can't stress enough how important this is!!
This is to my pre-teens. If it has the word SEX in it then it IS SEX!!! Don’t believe them when they say oral sex isn't sex. IT IS!!!!!! And when you are mentally mature enough to handle sex, ladies please start to use birth control and make sure you use protection. And also when you become sexually active that is the time to start having your annual checkups.
Also to my GLBT people this also applies to you!!!! This rule applies to everyone!! Contrary to popular belief AIDS is NOT a gay disease. STDs can happen to anyone no matter what their preference
This is Ursula telling you all to BE SAFE!!