College Sex: The Basics

If you took all the batteries from Best Buy, a field of solar panels, and the lightning from nor'easter storms and combined them, then you would understand how charged with sex almost every college campus is.  There are soo many components of college sex to talk about. But, for right now I'm going to keep it to a few of the basics: birth control, when to have sex for the first time with a new guy, and how to keep yourself happy in such an extreme sex/hookup culture.

1. Birth control

• If you don't know a guy's sexual habits yet or about that "one spring break trip to Panama City where I had sex like eeevery night" USE A CONDOM.  You don't know where he's been! And you probably won't for a while, so establish that you want to use condoms from the start and be confident about it.  You'll be surprised how much more it makes them respect you and how quickly it becomes routine.  If he says it doesn't feel good then, a) get over it, or b) try ribbed, ultra thin, or different materials of condom (lambskin apparently feels better? so I hear?). Also, he should buy the condoms.  If you paid $50 for the dress he was attracted to, he can pay $10 for a box of condoms.  Or just steal them from the health center, always a good option.
• If you're on the pill ALWAYS TAKE IT AT THE SAME TIME.  If you aren't taking your pill within the same time every day (window of 2 hours) then you absolutely must use a condom, you are not fully protected.  But, if you are consistent then you should be protected fully and as long as he's been tested and is clean then you should be good to go.
• Get tested at the end of every semester.

2.  When to have sex for the first time with a new guy

• In a perfect world we would be friends with the guy for a while before doing anything, but many times that's just not the case.  You should strive to hang out with a guy at least a few times soberly before having sex and get to know as much about him as possible, or at least gauge his feelings for you.
• Never have sex the first night you meet him.  That doesn't leave much to be desired and he will not respect you - flat out.  No matter how hot he is or how drunk you are, it's just not a good choice.
• Most importantly, have sex with him when you're comfortable and decide you want to - not him.

3. Keeping yourself happy (i.e. sea of douchebags)

• AVOID REGRETS.  If you know that going home with someone the first night you meet them (when you're drunk, presumably) is going to make you feel bad the next day, simply don't do it again.  For all aspects of hooking up decide what you do and don't like and promise yourself you won't allow that to happen.  There's always next time, don't rush decisions you know you'll regret in the morning.  The more confident you are about what you do and don't want, the more intrigued he'll be by you and open to doing things your way.  
• Don't expect a guy who doesn't know you to be the perfect guy.  Set reasonable expectations for the context of your hookup.  If you met him in a bar one night and decided to go home on a whim, you probably can't expect much from him.  But, if you have an established sober relationship or a history you can probably expect a bit more after the hookup - or at least should.
• Don't keep hooking up with guys with personality traits you know are bad for you.  Easier said than done...
• Avoid hooking up with many people in a friend group or on a team, that can quickly add up and leads to a bad rep
• Keep your friends in the loop, sometimes talking about your sex life out loud can really help you make sense of it

So many more tips to come! (No pun intended...whoops)