On any given day, I find myself chatting away happily with a group of girlfriends. Some days, however, our talk gets quite personal, and we tiptoe around (or dive happily into) topics like sex, health and relationships.
Although I'm not an expert on any of these topics, I often give advice to my friends. I sometimes wonder why they seek my advice. Although the things I say are always grounded in personal experiences or facts from accredited professionals, it still makes me wonder why they are more apt to believe me even though I may say the exact same thing that their physician or professor has told them.
Then I realized that we may try to find comfort within our own cozy circles. Admittedly, sometimes I find it difficult to talk openly to a physician or professor without wondering whether or not they are judging my values or intelligence.
My bewilderment turned into concern when I realized that there are a fair amount of women who speak to me in confidence and have either no knowledge or have incorrect facts about their own health. If three out of seven of my girlfriends had extremely poor knowledge about women's health issues, where do the other 150 million women in the United States stand?
Here are some disturbing facts: In 2004, The National Institute of Mental Health reported that twice as many women (12 percent) as men (six percent) in the U.S. are affected by a depressive disorder each year. The NIH Department of Health and Human Services estimates that at least 20 million people in the United States carry HPV (human papilloma virus), and a number of them don't know. And the freshman 15? Harvard Medical School calculated that every year the weight that the freshmen classes pack on totals approximately 11,000 tons. I haven't even elaborated on eating disorders, binge drinking and sexual health issues. That's not even the entire spectrum.
In the past, I've received comments about some of the topics I write about. Here's a thought: I'm here to explore. These articles are based on my own personal experiences and interests. The combination of these factors with what bits of education I am receiving are the bases of almost all of my articles. I'm definitely no doctor, but I am a student concerned about the welfare of women, especially my peers'. Take it or leave it; laugh at it and trash it if you insist. But please take my words with a grain of salt.
I believe that young women should be educated in what sorts of options they have for their well-being. I'm writing for my clueless girlfriend who needs to get that dreaded annual. I'm writing for that one girl who is scared to death after a sexual mishap because she doesn't know that Hopkins offers emergency contraception. This should be your voice.
