Relationships can be sometimes challenging. That’s why when you are asked on a date, you need to ask yourself the following 3 questions:
- Do you trust the person?
- Do you have common friends and/or interests?
- Do you feel pressure from this person in any way at all, to become intimate or to do something you feel is wrong, for example?
If this person is someone you would like to spend time with and start a relationship, it could be fun to begin a new friendship. This person could become someone special in your life.
However, if you date the same person for a while, you might feel pressure to become sexually intimate at some point in the relationship. Friends will ask you the classical question… have you done it yet? But just because you have been dating the same person for a month or even a year… is not a reason to have sex. In addition to things such as getting pregnant or contracting a Sexually Transmitted Disease (STD), there are emotional factors connected to sex as well. You could feel regret, anger, shame or guilt. In fact, consider the following points before you have sex:
- What if you became pregnant? What would you do?
- What if you contracted HIV and developed AIDS? Are you ready to deal with a heavy-duty sickness and possibly the end of your life?
- What if you contracted another STD and got sick or and passed it on to another person? How would you feel?
- What if you had sex with someone before you were really ready and it turned out to be an unhappy experience?
- Can you consider saying “no” to your partner and/or your friends who ask about your interest in sex and your experiences?
Be careful, because as if puberty isn’t sometimes confusing enough, it is also the time when most teenagers start dating. So remember, sex DOES NOT have to be a part of a great the relationship.