Merry Christmas Bulldogs! I want to take y’all back to 5th grade when a few kids would be called out of class to get “talked to.” This conversation that took place was to introduce the idea of “Safe Sex” to prevent the dangers of sex. Approximately 12 million new cases of STIs are reported every year – almost 33,000 cases each day. 63% of these cases affect individuals younger than 25 years old. Teenagers alone account for 3 million STI cases every year. The majority of teenagers rely on their parents, older siblings, or a trusted adult to provide safe sex options and to correctly educate them on this important topic. The issue with this education style is that some parents do not make this conversation a staple in their household. Many individuals do not have older siblings or a trusted adult to give them the proper information about how important it is to stay safe when regarding sex. On top of the lack of Sex-Ed at home, there are very few schools that offer serious sex education classes, leading to a lack of knowledge that affects mostly young adults. Although most STIs are curable, a longer-lasting effect is teen pregnancy. With this comes many struggles, such as physical health complications, neglect of mental health, risk to infant health, education, and financial issues. It is extremely important to stay educated on forms of proper Safe Sex. With a more apparent Sex Education curriculum in schools, many of the consequences of unsafe sex can be learned and prevented.