I came from a small school with only 120 students. Though sex ed was part of our curriculum, it was often looked over and rarely taught. The only bit of information I received was the terrifying birth video of a ten-pound baby. I left that school not knowing how to protect my ambitious future from an unplanned pregnancy. That is, until I came to my new school where birth control wasn’t a hush-hush subject, where at volunteer fairs Planned Parenthood would come; a school where students would adorn their water bottles with “Get Condoms” stickers in solidarity for affordable health care.

But most influential for me was a school-funded program that was a safe haven from the bullies, eating disorders, unhealthy relationships, and was mostly a provider of free birth control. After a conversation with a member of the student-run program, you would be provided with condoms upon request. Because even though the school was against students having sex, they knew it was more important to educate students on how to prevent STIs, unplanned pregnancy, or even how to have safe sex.

My new school, a school that chose to educate rather than avoid the subject, to provide rather than shame, and together had little to none teen pregnancies. Where my old school had to face the challenge of numerous teen pregnancies accompanied with uneducated and ill-prepared soon-to-be-parents. Because It is better to educate students about how to keep their bodies safe and how to protect a future of possibilities, for each student boy and girl to be educated. Education is power.