I want the young people of my generation and the future to arm themselves with as much knowledge and information as they can so that they have the tools necessary to impact their lives and the lives of others.

Nobles, 24, is a college junior and member of the Ohio Advocates.

I have served as a member of the Ohio Advocates for the past three years, and the experience has been nothing short of phenomenal! Coming into this experience I wasn’t sure what to expect due to the fact that I had previously never been engaged in any type of activism work. Since joining the Ohio Advocates I have learned a great deal about the sexual health community, the world and most importantly myself.

For the past three years that I have served, my motivation has grown even stronger to help save the youth of the future. I know first-hand what the impact of not having access to information can produce (due to my experience with abstinence only education), and I feel responsible to pass on as much as I know to save the lives of so many. I want the young people of my generation and the future to arm themselves with as much knowledge and information as they can so that they have the tools necessary to impact their lives and the lives of others.

Through my experience as an Ohio Advocate I have witnessed how critical it is for young people to advocate for sexual health and rights. Youth in particular are the “hot topic” so to speak when it comes to sexual health and we need to know how to be healthy and know our rights so that when we hear sketchy information we can combat it with the truth. The peril that abstinence only education has caused has been of epic proportions and we can’t allow this to continue! The work that Ohio Advocates does can’t be limited to the ten members of our council, we need the help of all our youth, which is why it’s so critical for them to be educated on sexual health and rights so that they can join us in our fight. Lastly, I’d like to end with a quote by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe which so eloquently ties my whole essay together… “Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Willing is not enough; we must do.”