Alright guys, today's topic is a bit... taboo, you might say. Basically, a lot of people are probably going to disagree with me and such... but just remember: NO BEING MEAN, Y'ALL! :)
Anyways, today I'm going to talk about what I think is one of the big causes of poverty and other problems in America.
And that is...
Teenage pregnancy.
I know what you're probably thinking: "Oh my gosh, seriously Stephanie? We get enough of these talks from our parents and those stupid 'Don't get pregnant!' brochures they keep on leaving around the house!"
Yeah, I get it. I promise you, my parents are just like yours. (Even with the ever-so-subtle brochures and those stupid parenting books I keep on finding....) But, I'm going to take a different approach on this than what your parents might do.
See, the problem with society is that they (as in parents and sex ed teachers and the like) don't teach abstinence, which is basically: "You won't get pregnant if you don't have sex". Instead, more and more parents are teaching the whole, "Oh, you can have sex... just make sure that it's safe! lesson"
NO.
JUST. NO.
Just listen to this: The average success rate for condoms are 85%.
85%!!!!
That means that there's a 15% chance that you could become pregnant. And, I don't know about you, but I would definitely not want to take that chance. Not to mention that condoms don't protect against STDs and a whole lotta of other nasty junk. (Just look up herpes... actually, if you're squeamish, I wouldn't recommend it.)
You might be thinking, "Oh but Stephanie, I really love him/her!". Well, sweetie, do you want to possibly ruin their lives and end almost all their possibilities of a higher education/good career? (Okay, a little harsh, but you get the point.)
And not only is this so-called "safe sex" mindset encouraged by our guardians and educators, it's also encouraged by the media.
For example, just look at the popular teen website and magazine, Seventeen. At first glance, it just seems like a brightly colored, fun teenager's website. However, it has a whole section dedicated to sex: explaining how to put on condoms, how birth control works, and what to tell your parents when you get pregnant.
I mean, really? It's like they expect teenagers to have sex and get pregnant.
Another example is Gurl. In this website, they actually have a small section dedicated to "virginity", as if virgins are so rare nowadays that they have to have a section dedicated to teaching them how to tell their boyfriends that they're virgins (*gasp*) and such.
Now, you're probably wondering, "Okay, Stephanie, I get it. Having sex is bad. But what does this have to do with the whole poverty thing?"
Well, glad you asked, my invisible audience!
See, this is what happens.
Let's say... Mary gets pregnant. Now, Mary has a child to support. Who has time for school when they have to pay for all those diapers and milk formula, not to mention that the dad totally ditched her the moment he heard that she was pregnant? Okay. So she drops out of school and gets a job at, let's say, McDonalds. So now, she's working at minimum wage with no education and a toddler. Who's going to watch to kid while she's at work, though? So, she sends them off to a nursery. But now she's got to pay for that too! She takes up another job. And when the kid grows up, do you think Mary's going to have enough time to sit down with them and help with their Algebra homework? No. So, the kid does bad at school, and, who knows? Maybe they get pregnant too. Now, we have a cycle of poverty going on and on.
Anyways, today I'm going to talk about what I think is one of the big causes of poverty and other problems in America.
And that is...
Teenage pregnancy.
I know what you're probably thinking: "Oh my gosh, seriously Stephanie? We get enough of these talks from our parents and those stupid 'Don't get pregnant!' brochures they keep on leaving around the house!"
Yeah, I get it. I promise you, my parents are just like yours. (Even with the ever-so-subtle brochures and those stupid parenting books I keep on finding....) But, I'm going to take a different approach on this than what your parents might do.
See, the problem with society is that they (as in parents and sex ed teachers and the like) don't teach abstinence, which is basically: "You won't get pregnant if you don't have sex". Instead, more and more parents are teaching the whole, "Oh, you can have sex... just make sure that it's safe! lesson"
NO.
JUST. NO.
Just listen to this: The average success rate for condoms are 85%.
85%!!!!
That means that there's a 15% chance that you could become pregnant. And, I don't know about you, but I would definitely not want to take that chance. Not to mention that condoms don't protect against STDs and a whole lotta of other nasty junk. (Just look up herpes... actually, if you're squeamish, I wouldn't recommend it.)
You might be thinking, "Oh but Stephanie, I really love him/her!". Well, sweetie, do you want to possibly ruin their lives and end almost all their possibilities of a higher education/good career? (Okay, a little harsh, but you get the point.)
And not only is this so-called "safe sex" mindset encouraged by our guardians and educators, it's also encouraged by the media.
For example, just look at the popular teen website and magazine, Seventeen. At first glance, it just seems like a brightly colored, fun teenager's website. However, it has a whole section dedicated to sex: explaining how to put on condoms, how birth control works, and what to tell your parents when you get pregnant.
I mean, really? It's like they expect teenagers to have sex and get pregnant.
Another example is Gurl. In this website, they actually have a small section dedicated to "virginity", as if virgins are so rare nowadays that they have to have a section dedicated to teaching them how to tell their boyfriends that they're virgins (*gasp*) and such.
Now, you're probably wondering, "Okay, Stephanie, I get it. Having sex is bad. But what does this have to do with the whole poverty thing?"
Well, glad you asked, my invisible audience!
See, this is what happens.
Let's say... Mary gets pregnant. Now, Mary has a child to support. Who has time for school when they have to pay for all those diapers and milk formula, not to mention that the dad totally ditched her the moment he heard that she was pregnant? Okay. So she drops out of school and gets a job at, let's say, McDonalds. So now, she's working at minimum wage with no education and a toddler. Who's going to watch to kid while she's at work, though? So, she sends them off to a nursery. But now she's got to pay for that too! She takes up another job. And when the kid grows up, do you think Mary's going to have enough time to sit down with them and help with their Algebra homework? No. So, the kid does bad at school, and, who knows? Maybe they get pregnant too. Now, we have a cycle of poverty going on and on.
So, what can we do about it? First of all, don't do it. (Duh.) Second of all, discourage your friends to do it. I know how hard that is to tell your friend something like that and risk sounding like their 72-year-old grandma, but that's the right thing to do. And lastly, pass it on to even your not-so-friends.
Over and out,