Quiet Time is Definitely Over
By Danielle, Member, Young Women of Color Leadership Council, Advocates for Youth
I was born and raised in the beautiful city of Macon, Georgia. I am 21 years old and currently attend the Savannah College of Art and Design. I work at the college, conducting campus tours as a student representative. My major is film and television; my minor is sound design.
I started working with sexual and reproductive health issues, HIV and AIDS prevention, and peer education in the seventh grade. My neighbor asked me to help her out one day at a meeting she was holding for young teens at a local high school. They were a part of a program called Teens Against Pregnancy (TAPS). That day made all the difference and from that moment on I stayed involved with TAPS until I graduated high school.
I know friends and family who have been infected with STIs (sexually transmitted infections) and even HIV. I feel that it is only right that I educate others to help prevent more infections. After all, no one wants to be a statistic.
Participating in Teens Against Pregnancy made a tremendous impact in my life, and I feel tremendously blessed that I was educated at an early age about the dangers of irresponsible sexual behavior. For me the question has been, “How can I be safe if I choose to engage in certain activities?” That’s all most kids want to know. How can someone deny them that kind of information? It’s just a disaster waiting to happen. It’s hard enough talking about the subject with your friends and people who just don’t want to hear me; but if I won’t do it, than who will?
Most parents wait too late to start conversations about sex because they think high school is probably the right time to talk. But, a girl in my seventh grade class gave birth to a baby, so what does that say? If kids have questions, then they need answers and not to be sent home to ask their parents. After all, some aren’t fortunate enough to have either parents or a guardian that they can ask questions of and get honest answers from. It’s hard for a lot of adults to have honest, open sexuality conversations with their kids.
Being a part of the Young Women of Color Leadership Council allows us to go out and be heard. Having an organization like Advocates for Youth to support our efforts also gives us credibility when we go out and facilitate workshops and community forums. I really look forward to holding youth summits in the Georgia area. As a young woman of color, I want to show others that we can do more to educate our own young men and women and to keep our future safer, even when our schools won’t. The way things are going now; it looks like it may be up to us. Quiet time is definitely over!
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