this is what we in the business call a 'rant'

oh god I have been reading various teenager's blogs for the past half hour... can't even articulate how ridiculous some things seem to me. just. can't. don't even.

I feel like I live a really different life to a lot of the people my age and have really different values. but I also feel like I've found things that I am passionate about, things that make me think, that make me angry, that make me want to create change. I know the kind of person I want to be and I feel like I have a really strong sense of self and identity.

I wish I could help people see things how I see them because I feel like they could be so much happier and more secure. I wish I could help some of my friends realise how perfectly normal and fantastic their bodies are, that the mere idea of them losing weight is ABSURD, that they are not defined by how they look - and that anybody who attempts to define them as such is not worth their time.
I really, really, really wish I could teach some people what I know about sex - if you have unprotected sex, you really need to get tested for STD's. you absolutely need to look after yourself, the risk is real. if you have an STD and you have unprotected sex, it is your responsibility to inform that person - no matter how embarassing that may be for you. you must own your behaviour.
I wish people could see how important it is to use a condom. it's so simple! if you're embarassed, if you're worried that the other person will laugh at you/judge you, ask yourself, why are you having sex with them? any person who would laugh at that, or would refuse to use a condom, is childish and immature. if you cannot communicate to them your desire to use a condom, you should not be having sex with them.
it seems like so many people are putting the other persons desires and opinions before their own. you need to put your health, your wants, your needs, your requests first. if you want to use a condom, that is more important than their opinion that condoms are unecessary (or whatever excuse they use).

I wish I could get people to change how they communicate in their relationships; you always, always need to tell the other person what you are thinking and feeling. they cannot help you, they cannot change their behaviour, they cannot do anything if they do not know what is going on with you. your feelings are VALID, inherently valid, and if your partner is any kind of decent, loving person, they will not laugh at you and they will not judge you. a person who would laugh at your worries or judge your problems is, again, not worth your time.

above all, I wish the fucking education system would give us COMPREHENSIVE sex education, from years seven to twelve. at the moment? i'm pretty sure we don't get any sex education past year 8. what the fuck, who was even having sex in year 8? who is going to remember anything they were taught in year 8, when they go to have sex for the first time in year 10? ugh our sex education was pathetic.

I would love to teach sex education, it is so so so important and I genuinely believe that so many things can be prevented with basic education.