I remember when my doctor told me my test results were abnormal and I was carrying the HPV virus.  I immediately thought the worst before learning how common the virus actually is; Nearly 80% of sexually active women carry HPV at some point in their lives and there are actually over 150 strains of the HPV virus. For some, and for myself, the virus will often clear on its own, however some strains have been linked to a higher risk of cervical cancer. When it comes to HPV and cervical cancer, prevention and awareness are key!

When I learned that for less than the cost many co-pays ($15 with insurance, $69 without insurance), anyone can take control of their sexual health with Nurx's at-home HPV screening test I was 100% behind the concept. The kit tests for the 14 strains pf HPV that have a higher risk of leading to cervical cancer. Check out my video and photos to see what to expect in your kit and then head to Nurx's website for more information and to request your own kit. Unfortunately for me, I'm considered high risk going forward, so I'm not eligible to use Nurx's services, but it's incredibly empowering to know that women everywhere can monitor their own sexual health.

I'm just lucky I was aware of my options when my "oops moment" occurred; I marched right into the nearest drug store and picked up Plan B One-Step ® , handed over my debit card, took the pill, and went home to continue cramming for finals. According to a survey sponsored by Teva Women’s Health and conducted by the Kinsey Instituted at Indiana University, nearly 70% of college students say pregnancy would be highly disruptive to their lives*. If you’re like me, and you too fall into this category, it's really important to be aware of your options to make the most informed decision possible. More and more often these days, it's seems young women aren't aware of the resources available to us. Even more alarming, the survey found that college students who feel more at risk for pregnancy often know less about over- the-counter emergency contraception*.

Plan B One-Step ® is an emergency contraceptive back up plan that helps prevent pregnancy when used as directed and taken within 72 hours after unprotected sex or birth control failure (but, for real ladies, the sooner it’s taken, the better it works). It's not an abortion pill; Plan B One-Step ® contains levonorgestrel, the same hormone used in many birth control pills—just at a higher dose. It should not be used as regular birth control, because it is not as effective. Plan B One-Step ® will not work if you are already pregnant and will not affect an existing pregnancy. It is not intended for routine use because it is not as effective as regular birth control methods. It does not protect you against HIV/AIDS or other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). When taken as directed, about 7 out of every 8 women who would have gotten pregnant will not become pregnant after taking Plan B One-Step ®.



Plan B One-Step ® is a backup option to keep in mind if your primary method of birth control fails or breaks, you forget to take a dose of your normal birth control, or you didn't use any form of birth control. It's been used by millions of women** like me and is the #1 OB/GYN recommended brand of emergency contraceptive.*** Plan B One-Step should be used as directed.

Whatever your decision, I want to make sure you have all the information you need. I know when I had my "oops moment" it was helpful to have the information I needed to decide what plan of action was best for me, and that plan just so happened to be Plan B One-Step ®.


*Survey of 3,600 female and male college students ages 18-25 sponsored by Teva Women’s Health, the makers of Plan B One-Step ®, and conducted by the Kinsey Institute at Indiana University. **Survey of 1000 OB/GYNs, February 2017. 
***FDA drug use review, December 2011. https://www.fda.gov/downloads/AdvisoryCommittees/CommitteesMeetingMaterials/PediatricAdvisoryCom mittee/UCM288778.pdf.

"Hold on, let me re-read it. Maybe he was saying..."  I can't tell you how many times I've gone back and forth with my girlfriends sharing screenshots of iMessages, dissecting every word, searching for the hidden meaning (or any hint of meaning, really) in the text messages of the men I've dated. 

There's no inflection in a text message. There's certainly no body language, and often there's very little context. It's simply black text illuminated by tiny pixels on a screen. It's hard enough to interpret if a guy is flirting with you via text; and if he's not great with grammar you can pretty much guarantee that you'll be confused more often than not, but what if the option to obsess just isn't there?

Rewind to Christmas; I had been seeing this guy for a couple of months and we were getting pretty cozy. He took care of me when I was sick, we went on dinner dates that weren't solely followed by sex, we called each other "babe." But we hadn't actually made anything official. 

When the holiday finally rolled around I ventured home to Texas for a little R&R and decided that Snapchat would be a less intrusive way to keep in touch while I was away. He could check it at his leisure, ignore it if he were busy or at work, and I wouldn't have to regularly delete photos and videos from my constantly full camera roll... I chalked it up to a win.

Boy, was I wrong. Turns out some people really like to chat on Snap (I mean, I should have known his Snapscore exceeds 10,000). The thing is, Snapchat doesn't save a record of your chats. It's gone in a snap. That's the whole point. 

There's no going back and rereading his message, there's no going back to see what photo I sent while 4 gin and tonics deep. There's no option to undo or recall what you sent. There is the option to save chats and screenshot conversations and photos, but whoever you're chatting with will know. Snapchat politely says, "HE TOOK A SCREENSHOT!" Or "HE SAVED A CHAT!" 

Imagine me suddenly recalling said guy sending me a diamond ring emoji the day after I went out to the local bar. I had been drinking and there was the usual newly engaged millennial at the bar talking about her upcoming wedding and showing off her sparkly engagement ring. Did I mention it to him? Is he flirting with me and finally seeing that someone should immediately wife me? What is going on here?

On impulse, I text my BFF a little background and ask "What do you think he meant?" She asked for context and I honestly couldn't give her any. It was like it didn't even happen. As she pointed out, "At least [Snapchat] deletes everything so you can completely ignore it if you so choose." 

This scenario played out several times over the days following. Sometimes I'd get distracted and totally forget what he asked me before I closed the app. Sometimes I'd forget what I said minutes before and just reply with random emojis. One night we started to talk about sex and he mentioned it had been the longest he'd gone without sex in a while.

Wait, what? I was gone for about 13 days. We've certainly gone longer than that in the time we've been seeing each other... Right? Is this guy fucking with me? Dates and numbers are flying through my head. I want to text my bestie and get her take but yet again the conversation is gone. Like a slate wiped clean, there's nothing for me to re-read or dwell over. There's nothing for me to attempt to re-interpret or overanalyze. And try as I might, I can't remember what exactly he just said. 

So eventually, I just give up. And we keep chatting on Snapchat, and I keep denying myself the ability to over analyze what he says, and you know what? 

Many of you may not know that today is World AIDS Day. World AIDS Day aims to provide awareness, promote the fight against HIV, support those living with HIV/AIDS, and to commemorate those who have died from the disease. This disease is a worldwide killer but with proper education and precautions can be avoided, and possibly eradicated.

With the evolution of the internet not only can we increase awareness but access to information has become much more readily available. From the Planned Parenthood website (PlannedParenthood.org) you can live chat a representative from the organization with your questions or concerns, find a clinic near you, get information regarding protection and contraception, as well as facts about abortion and disease.

So what can you do?

Protect yourself: Use protection. There are a myriad of excuses not to but are any of them worth your health? Condoms are the only effective way to protect against STDs/HIV/AIDS and since 90% of these infections are spread through sexual contact you'd be crazy not to use one. You can get free condoms at Planned Parenthood as well as college and university clinics. So go crazy (with the condoms).

Get tested: Ideally you should get tested yearly and before entering a new sexual relationship. HIV testing is often painless and free and the results can be available in as little as 20 minutes. Testing for other diseases can be more invasive but I find that a few minutes of discomfort is worth the peace of mind. 

Help a lady out: If you have to be the one to hand out condoms, do it. I used to always take a few from my college health center to keep on hand just in case. Just make sure to regularly restock your stash; condoms have an expiration date.

Wear red: The red ribbon is the official symbol for the cause but you can also participate by wearing red and letting others know why you're wearing it. I'll be sporting a red lip today and talking up the issue with my coworkers.

Spread the word: Share this post or some of the links below on your social media accounts. Add the hashtag #WorldAIDSDay to your tweets, share a link on Facebook, whatever it takes to get the message across. It's going to take a lot of effort to garner results so continuing the conversation long after December 1st is essential.

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