One day, somehow we all learned about the birds and the bees. The quality of “the talk” we got left lots of room for variation—too much information, too little, scary, funny, silly, uncomfortable, eye-opening… One thing is for sure: young people will always need to hear from caring, trusted adults about sex, sexuality, and relationships. Be that adult and encourage others to be those resources for youth and their communities.

Find out from some of Healthy Teen Network’s staff what “the talk” was like for them! Watch the short video below, then scroll down for some other stories.

“I had heard people talking about erections and pretended to know what they were talking about. When I looked up the word in the dictionary, I was so confused to only find a definition that talked about buildings.” –Kelly

“If you sit next to a boy, you will get pregnant, so stay away from boys.” –Yewande

“See my blog post, Confessions of a Sex Ed Mom.” –Deb

“When I got my period, I was so young, the schools did not teach you anything. My sister told me I was dying and not to tell our mom, because she would cry. I finally talked to the school nurse because the cramps were bad.” –Dawn

Share your stories in the comments!