Sexual Education

I bet just reading the title to this essay made you cringe. Or, maybe, you think I’m weird writing about Sex Ed. Well let me tell you, Sexual Education is weird. It’s uncomfortable. It’s awkward. It’s unpleasant. But, it’s required. And let me tell you, I made it even more awkward. I was very comfortable with the classmates in my health class. I had friends and was close to everyone in the room. Mrs. Rose also was a great teacher and did not make things feel as weird as they could. These aspects made me feel bold. Although Sex Ed is an uncomfortable class, I feel as though it is important. I mean, who wants to ask their own parents what sexual intercourse is? I know I definitely did not want to, so I decided to take advantage of this class to get all my questions answered. I had never been so uncomfortable to ask questions in my life. 

The first Sex Ed class that my grade took was in eighth grade. This class was awkward, but not to the extreme. Of course, we learned about the anatomy of both female and male genitals, but that was close to it. The class just laughed when they were handed a penis or vagina diagram, but no one asked questions. We knew the gist of the topics discuessed in Sex Ed, so we did not need further explanation on them. Fast forward to Sophomore year though, the criteria and topics expanded greatly. Mrs. Rose told us that we would be discussing protection, sexually transmitted diseases, anatomy, etc. I knew a good amount of the things we would learn, but definitely missed a good amount of things as well. So, decided I would step out of my comfort zone and ask.

The first question I asked was not the most uncomfortable one. Mrs. Rose was talking about protection methods and I was very curious about one form. I looked around the room to see if anyone had their hand raised to ask a question, hoping that someone had the same question as me, but no one did. I decided to just go for it and ask. I hesitantly and cautiously raised my hand. This question was not as unpleasant as others, but I was still nervous. I wondered if people would think I was weird for asking this question. Did everyone already know the answer? Did I look stupid? Then, I thought, what was the worst that could happen? I get bullied? Then I realized that that probably won’t happen. I asked how effective condoms were. Mrs. Rose said great question and answered ninety-eight percent. And to my surprise, she moved on instantly. No one laughed or said anything or even looked at me. I was shocked. Maybe I didn’t have anything to worry about…

The Sex Ed classes rolled on, and so did my questions. The course topics started out slow, so none of my questions were too outrages. On average, I probably only asked one question per class, but I was still the only person to do so. Whenever there was a question to be asked, everyone knew it was me who was asking. Being the only one asking, it came as a surprise to me that no one thought I was weird. People could have easily thought that I was stupid, or slightly off, but I never got that feeling. Still, I never was too uncomfortable asking a question. Then, one day, we swtiched to a new topic in Sex Ed: sexually transmitted diseases. This is where it gets icky and gross. Sex Ed went from scientific to extra uncomfortable real quick. My streak of asking questions soon came to a halt. Just thinking about the topic made me cringe. After around a week of going through STDs such as gonorrhea, AIDS/HIV, herpes, we got to crabs. This STD especially grossed me out. Just the thought of having living bugs on a person grossed me out. Although disgusting, it was interesting. Mrs. Rose continued to teach us about the STD, but there was one question that stuck in my mind. I was waiting and waiting for her to answer it, but she never did. I thought it was a pretty obvious and important question, but she never seemed to touch on it. Surely, I thought that someone else in the class would ask it so I wouldn’t have to. To my surprise, no one did. Mrs. Rose continued to talk on the subject, and the question just seemed to burn a hole in my mind. I felt a need for it to be answered. The question though, was so embarrassing to ask. I had asked many questions before, but this one topped the list for most repulsive questions to ask in Sex Ed. I was very conflicted at this point. It was bugging me so bad, but I just couldn’t bring myself to raise my hand and mutter my vulgar and weird question. I sat there for around two minutes just contemplating asking or not. Finally, I just came to the decision that I would ask it. I figured it had to be done. I needed it answered. So, I raised my hand and nervously waited for Mrs. Rose to call on me. She called my name, and I spit out the words. (Due to the fact that I would actually like this essay published, I will not say exactly what my question was.) I was shocked as soon as the words spilled out. Did I really just ask that in front of all my classmates, including my teacher? I really had the guts to ask that? Did people think I was weird? But, once again, Mrs. Rose told me “great question” and proclaimed to the class how great it was that I was asking questions. She then answered it and continued teaching. I looked around the room right after, and no one was staring at me or whispering to one another about how stupid I was. It was as if I asked if there were fish in the ocean or if the earth was round. It was treated as a simple and logical question. I was relieved. Before, it had felt like I had a clothing tag that was constantly rubbing against my skin, irritating and annoying me. Once I asked my question, it felt like cutting off that tag. I had no more distractions and annoyances to ask a simple and logical question. 

From this moment on, I have learned that no question is stupid. I am never afraid to ask a question now. I have gained confidence over the years and have thought about other people who are wondering the same thing, but are too afraid to ask. I have decided to speak for them so that their annoying and irritating question does not get skipped. After all, it doesn’t get much worse than asking a question in Sex Ed.

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