Q. How should I respond when people in my high school say, "Everyone is doing it?"

A. You could respond to this in any number of ways. For one, you could ask the person, "If I can prove that the majority of high school students are virgins, will you be abstinent?" The fact is, according to a 1997 survey, the majority of high school students are virgins. Between 1990 and 1997, sexual activity among high school guys dropped about 20 percent!(1)

There are many "closet virgins" but the sexually active students tend to do a lot of talking. This gives the impression that "everyone is doing it," when in reality, the majority is not. The majority of high school students are virgins, and 71 percent of the teens who have had sex wish they had waited.(2)

You could also point out that the "everyone" who is "doing it" is also getting STDs, that "everyone" is breaking up three weeks after they have sex, and "everyone" ends up getting divorced if they stay together long enough to get married. You are in no rush to join any of these crowds. We all have a fear of not being accepted, or of being a loner if we do not conform to the world. But you must hold out for the higher standard of love.

The bottom line is this: What is our motivation? Is it to please God, or to conform to the world and make life-changing decisions based on the opinions of classmates, ninety-five percent of whom you will probably never see again after graduation? Stay strong. You are well worth the wait. Besides, the world needs to see young people who are not scared out of their minds to be chaste. This is something to be proud of, and if enough virgins on your campus realize this and have the courage to stand up, I'd bet the saying "everyone is doing it" will soon refer to chastity.
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1. The Consortium of State Physicians Resource Councils, "The Declines in Adolescent Pregnancy, Birth, and Abortion Rates in the 1990's: What Factors Are Responsible?" 7 January 1999, 5.
2. Roper Starch Worldwide poll for The Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States [SIECUS], 1994. As quoted by Mary Beth Bonacci, Real Love (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1996), 273–274. Also see Seventeen Magazine, May 1996.

from Pureloveclub.com