Waving a brightly colored piece of stationery, the high school girl races up to her best friends. As they look over her shoulder, they urge her to read aloud the love letter she just found in her locker.

"Dearest, how I long to be near you again! I love waking up next to your side, touching your bare skin, hearing your heart beat next to my chest. No one else has ever been so special to me..."

Frowns creep across the faces of the two listeners. Slowly, out of their pockets appear identical pieces of stationery. Mechanically, one friend joins in reading identical words, "`No one else has ever been so special to me...'"

Another adds, "No one else can ever be all that you are to me..."

"Not now, not tomorrow, not ever." finishes a third friend.

Shock registers on the face of the first girl as she realizes that her special guy has been in bed with each of her best friends.

 

Skits like this one have made "Waiting, the Smart Choice" a popular program in public schools throughout the capital region of Pennsylvania.

Demand for the program has quadrupled in the past two years. In 1996, we presented 278 programs and received recognition as "Volunteer Group of the Year" for the Harrisburg area.

Local college students volunteer as peer presenters and keep the classroom presentation moving at a rapid pace, full of laughter. Their personal stories prompt young people to rethink their sexual behavior.

Because teens tend to make decisions based on emotions, role plays during the presentation help them feel the consequences of sexual behavior. For example: What if your wife rolled over after an intimate time in bed and said, "That was almost as good as when I was with Al"? Or again: Show us how you would tell your boyfriend you already have herpes from a previous relationship.

We use the term "renewed" virginity instead of "secondary" virginity to avoid implying second-class status for those who have already been sexually active.

Peer presenters can be recruited from local colleges, church youth groups, Young Life or Youth for Christ clubs. When these teens speak out for sexual abstinence, they also grow in confidence and commitment. As one says, "It's cool to wait!"

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