The Right Age to Date

My name is Ernie and I'm 17 years old. My parents always told me not to rush into dating and that I couldn't date until I was 18 years old but I never agreed with them. I always thought that there is no right age to start dating and that it was all about how mature you are, so two years ago I thought I was mature enough to start dating, but my parents wouldn't let me so I did it in secret.

I started dating a guy three years older than me. I was 15 and he was 18. At first I thought he was too old for me but then my friends started complimenting me and encouraged me to keep on dating him so I did. We dated for three months and I was starting to feel comfortable but my parents still didn't know about it. One evening he took me to a grown-up party. I had to lie to my parents and tell them that I was going to sleep over at a friend's house. I felt bad but he told me to get over it.

A few months later he asked me to sleep with him, I said no but he wasn't done trying. One afternoon we were watching a movie and in the middle of doing that, he started kissing me. I knew it wasn't going to end well and and I knew that I was being tempted but I didn't resist, I slept with him and for some weeks I felt like I was living in a fairy tale until I found out that he was cheating on me. I broke up with him, it was hard but I did it.

A few weeks later I got sick. I started vomiting, I felt dizzy and tired. I thought I might be pregnant but I didn't want to tell my parents, I was embarrassed. For a whole week I thought about how my life would change, I thought about having to stay at home and take care of a baby while my friends would go out to the mall and have fun, I also thought about how disappointed my friends and family would be.

On a Saturday before the exams started I fell on the floor and passed out. My parents took me to the hospital. The doctor suspected that I was pregnant and she asked me to do a pregnancy test and so I did. I was very scared, my heart was beating very fast and for a moment I thought I was going to die of a heart attack. The results came out negative said the doctor and that was probably the best news I've heard my whole life.

From that day on I told myself that I would never make the same mistake ever again and that from now on I'll listen to my parents. I still think that there is no right age to start dating, it all depends on how mature you are and I also know now that I'm not mature enough, but it is too late now because I already lost my virginity and that is something I'll never get back.

Argentina Chindombe is 16 years old, is in Grade 11 and is a proud pupil of Cosmos High School. She loves writing stories that teenagers can relate to.

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