Daniel is a member of the Ohio Advocates. 

Perhaps my interest in preventing unwanted sexual outcomes started when I read a mother's memoir detailing her son's battle with HIV. I was very ignorant of the deadly virus for a long time; it just didn't seem like an issue that would effect me. After reading her horrific story of what sufferers and family members alone go through, the seed was planted.

This seed, although present, didn't sprout anything until I had a talk with a good friend of mine. He told me about a boy he had recently met. The boy was 16 and HIV positive. Sadness poured over me. My mind had a hard time grappling what I had heard: one more person. I'm not sure this boy knows it, but he represented, to me, the lot of people who could be in his position, namely myself.

As a fifteen year old high school student, it may not seem commonplace for me to be so active in pushing for a policy for comprehensive sexual education. It's true though: had I not been so fortunate to learn what I needed to know in regard to sex, I could be that 16 year old who is HIV positive.

My school is guilty of teaching ignorance; it is guilty of molding irresponsible and unsafe sexual individuals. Yes, I learned everything I need to know, and I continually have my knowledge reinforced, but I am one of few. Like the other 1700 students who attend my high school, I endured the week long visit from “Operation Keepsake.” They skipped the important stuff and went right into the nuts and bolts of marriage, the proper time to have sex and the scare tactics. I felt deprived of vital knowledge. Some don't even know how to put a condom on, or what HIV actually is. I know that such knowledge almost always comes too late.

All of this prompted me to seek change at my school and in my district. I wrote letters to the administration and guidance departments and am currently waiting to hear back from them with where we will go next. I feel responsible in way, perhaps privileged. I would like to know that everyone has gotten a good level of education so that they can protect their sexual health, and not  put me in danger due to their own ignorance. I am fighting on behalf of my peers, whether they know it or not.

I love to learn about people and have discussions and intimate conversations. Really, I just want to make a difference, as cliché as it may sound. I believe in the power and the potential people have to create the change we need, and I hope that through doing work such as this, I can not only tap into my own power and potential, but also that of others.