When I was 18, I had sex for the first time. The circumstances around the event were problematic, and I didn’t feel comfortable, nor did I know how to talk to the people around me about what had happened.

The summer before, I had started getting wellness exams at my mom’s gynecologist, and when I went back the following year I didn’t know how to bring up the fact that I had lost my virginity…so I just didn’t, and she never asked me if I was sexually active. After the appointment she asked to “see me in her office” and made me feel so terrible and small about something I was already mixed about. After that, I just stopped seeing anyone about my reproductive health.

After college, I went to the local Planned Parenthood clinic for birth control, and they were so nice. Every time I go, they make me feel normal, and answer all my questions, and create an environment where I do not feel ashamed and can safely get the health care I need. I actually had an abnormal pap smear last year, and if I hadn’t had a place I felt safe getting reproductive health checks, I might have gone years without getting medical attention.