My decision

A couple months after I turned 18, I met a guy.  We exchanged numbers after a little bit of talking. A few days later, he invited me to his house to watch movies.  When I got there, things progressed way too fast, and soon the topic of sex came up. Because he didn’t have a condom, he wanted me to trust his “ability” in the pull-out method. I wanted to be reckless and wild, so without thinking of the possible consequences, I accepted.

After it was over, I tried to put the experience behind me, my first one-night stand.  But I couldn’t help thinking how stupid I was. He could’ve had any type of STI, from Chlamydia to HIV.  So, a little voice in the back of my mind couldn’t stop panicking about the diseases I could have possibly had.

For a while before that, my grandmother was urging me to get on birth control, since she knew I was sexually active. I just never got around to making the appointment. When I finally did, it was too late. I was 4-6 weeks pregnant from a one-night stand. I cried right there in the doctor’s office.

I told the father, but he didn’t believe it was his, even though he knew what we had done. I told him, “That’s okay,” because I didn’t think I was keeping it. Everyone I talked to wanted me to keep it, but I honestly didn’t want to because I didn’t want to have a baby with a man I didn’t know. But with all the people wanting me to keep it, I felt like I was being brainwashed into doing the “right thing.”

In the end, I got the abortion. I didn’t like the deep depression I was feeling or feeling like I had lost myself in this situation. And I don’t regret it at all. I only regret being stupid enough to have that one-night stand in the first place. I freely talk about it to people; it’s not some deep dark secret. Now I’m in uni, and I’m happy. I think about what could have happened if I would have kept the baby, but it doesn’t appeal to me.

I learned a lot of lessons from that experience. When it comes to your health, it’s never a good idea to be reckless and wild. And it’s okay to talk to people about what’s going on. Don’t ever feel like you HAVE to keep everything to yourself. And above all else, do what feels right for YOU, not what others want you to do.

To find out more about abortion and read other young peoples stories, check out these Reach Out links:

About Abortion (termination of pregnancy) - (Factsheet)

Mistake - (Story)

FAQ's about sex - (Factsheet)