Written by Ivey Ingalls-Rubin

Pregnancy wasn’t part of the plan.

College is a time when you’re young, thriving and absolutely thrilled to exist. This is ideally the circumstance at least. The absolute last thing on your mind should be a child.

Most of your focus should be on making good grades and investing in your education. Problems arise however– especially on a campus like ours which is so diverse. We’ve all seen the signs around campus, on park benches and billboards: “pregnancy wasn’t part of the plan,” and for most of the students attending this school, pregnancy wasn’t, isn’t and shouldn’t be part of the plan.

We must accept, however, that life is full of surprises, and more importantly consequences. Now you may be thinking at this point “that won’t be me or anyone I know” and I truly don’t understand that thought pattern– it’s not reasonable. There are ways to avoid a hick-up in your academic plan. You have to think ahead and prepare– just like anything else. It’s necessary to study and be aware of all the options and answers and. Think of sex like an upcoming test—you don’t want to be the person that comes to class without a pencil or paper on the day of the final.

There are many ways you can avoid pregnancy through contraceptives, and the word “avoid” should stand out in that sentence.  The methods vary and you should choose the best one for you. Condoms for example, should be the first choice that pops in someone’s head when thinking of what they want, and don’t want. Sex yes– baby no. In my opinion, they’re not the greatest things, but they’re definitely a better option than the famous “pull out” method. Condoms can be bought at any store, and anyway let me just say that price really shouldn’t be an issue when dealing with a life changing decision.

The next method of pregnancy prevention, birth control, is almost just as crucial. Use this people. Kids should not be raising kids. There are so many ways you can take “the pill.” Not taking any method really is just asking for trouble. Whether you take a pill every day or a shot once a month, I say this is the most effective way to prevent pregnancy.

Sometimes, however, it’s too late to think about all your options, when “Mother Nature’s” call hasn’t arrived yet. Hindsight is 20/20 from what I hear. Now, let’s say you are pregnant, young, in college and worried.  It’s totally understandable that keeping that festering, breeding, ever growing lump of cells inside you is not the noble decision–it’s not even the logical conclusion. We’re still kids ourselves and you’re thinking about raising one? Wrong. There are programs around Valdosta that offer services that really should be used more often. I’m not talking about comprehensive family planning education, I’m talking about getting rid of your problem–and going on with your life. Focus on the things that are absolutely necessary to your future. College is a time to be selfish, to know what you want and go and get it. Anything else presented to you is nothing other than a disgusting distraction that should be thrown out as soon as your mind realizes what’s going on.

Yes, sometimes things happen–its part of life, and we all must deal with it. Maybe you forgot to take your pill, or didn’t have a condom, but whatever the reason you do have other options that don’t lead to a second job, quitting school and starting some malfunctioning family like the rest of the world.

The point here is mistakes happen. This is the 21^st century and we aren’t in the dark ages anymore where women are demanded to start spewing out children as soon as they can to have their existence validated.

So, don’t use the modern medicines technique as a form of birth control– just plan ahead and avoid the discomfort that follows pregnancy decisions. Use some form of contraceptive and don’t be a statistic. You have the rest of your lives for motherhood.