This is the editorial that I wrote for the newspaper this week.

Today is Valentine’s Day: You know, the day of love and romance. The isles of Wal-Mart are covered with fake roses, Cars valentine cards, chocolate covered candies, and stuffed animals that sing songs like “Crazy in Love” and “Love Me Tender.”

Something else that is popular on Valentine’s Day is: You guessed it – sex.

Sex is a taboo topic to a lot of people, but not to me. I’m pretty much fascinated by it and even took a Philosophy Course here called “Sexual Ethics,” which I recommend to everyone.

But unlike most college students, I have a very distorted view of sex, especially where girls are concerned because of my childhood and teenage years viewing the females around me.

I grew up watching family members and friends jump from boyfriend to boyfriend, only to end up pregnant, hurt, diseased, or talked about by everybody.

Watching the things they have been through helped me become who I am, with a very distinctive way of thinking—especially when it comes to sex and relationships.

That is why I was in shock when I overheard a conversation a few weeks ago.

“All college girls do it,” someone said, insinuating that all college girls are promiscuous.

Hardly.

According to stayteen.org, more than half of college freshmen think hooking up with a casual acquaintance is not okay.

This isn’t about saving yourself for marriage. This isn’t even about abstinence. I’m simply saying that being promiscuous isn’t a good thing.

So many young women watch shows like “Sex in the City” and think real life is like that. Not everybody acts like Samantha, sleeping with every man in the city that never sleeps. Not everyone goes out to bars, gets plastered, and ends up sleeping with someone whose name she doesn’t remember the next morning.

Being promiscuous is not acting responsibly. It shows a lack of self respect for one’s self and one’s body.

I’m not the traditional college student, but I’m far from being Mother Theresa or Oprah. Still, there’s a difference between being an adult and being a responsible adult. Just because someone is eighteen and legally adult, doesn’t mean emotionally, morally, and psychologically she is an adult.

Counting how many “booty calls” you have might seem cool, but what does that say about your body and your soul? What are you going to tell the guy (or girl) you meet and want to spend the rest of your life with when the conversation turns to how many people you’ve been sexually active with? Will you be proud of your number? Will he or she?

One of my favorite quotes about sex comes from Clueless. Alicia Silverstone’s character, Cher, said, “I’m picky about my shoes, and they only go on my feet.”

Sex isn’t about popularity and shouldn’t be used to see how popular you are or if you’ve had more partners than your friends. Sex is like a drug: You have to be careful what you put in your body (in more ways than one). Being promiscuous is dangerous, especially with so many diseases out there.

One of my favorite Reba McEntire songs is called “She Thinks His Name Was John,” which is about a woman who sleeps with a guy she met at a party. The girl in the song can remember how her one night stand laughed and the color of his eyes, but she can’t remember his name.

When she finds out she’s HIV positive, she doesn’t know who to tell because she didn’t know his name, where he was from, or his phone number.

Don’t end up like a country song.

Don’t end up like the people I’ve known in my life who have three kids by three different men. Don’t end up with a disease that can ruin your life. Don’t be the girl people talk about when she walks into the room. Don’t be the next girl on Maury for a baby-daddy test.

You only have one life, and you should have fun. But be smart and take care of yourself.

So on this Valentine’s Day, if you have that special someone, have fun and enjoy being in love. If you don’t, sit back, relax and watch “Sleepless in Seattle” or “A Walk to Remember.” Most importantly, whatever you do, have respect for yourself, your body, and those around you.