Lisa Bunn

	In their own words, 16-year-olds discuss the pressures of getting into college, dating, blogging and more 16 by 16 • Ari Rubin • Carlyle Manns • Caroline Cox-Orrell • Chelsey Knight • Janelle Norman • Meredith-Leigh Pleasants • Tia Whipple • Kelvin Bates • Lisa Bunn • Shukan Patel • Lina Li • Stephen Serene • Jullia Park • Patty Yau • Ana Baric • CJ Martino Getting A Head Start • The New World of Internships Those unpaid summer jobs are no longer for rich kids, college juniors—or even just for summer Multimedia • Sixteen Candles Inside a Sweet 16 Party

I think the biggest issue that 16-year-olds face is sex. We all feel pressure to have sex or to fool around with our boyfriends or girlfriends. Movies and television make it seem OK to hook up with whomever you want. They don’t seem to show the alternative to sex, which is waiting until you’re married. I personally believe that people should wait until they are married to have sex or any sexual contact. I feel very strongly about this choice, but I feel like many people my age see it as a joke. But I’m not kidding when I tell people my decision. Some of my friends have had sexual contact with their boyfriends and tell me that it’s no big deal. But I believe it is. I know that you can get hurt and I feel the only way to protect myself is to stay a virgin.

Statistics are thrown in our face all the time about STDs and teenage pregnancy. I don’t think that the statistics really affect us because we see celebrities and older teenagers hooking up all the time. At the age of 16, many of us start dating and are starting to gain our own independence and start needing our parents less. We think that we can make our own decisions and know what the outcome will be and we think we won’t get hurt. But I don’t think that we know the whole story when it comes to sex. It’s hard for those of us that choose to wait, but it’s a choice I have made and want to keep.

Lisa Bunn is from Ashland, Ohio

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