Andrés and Alejandra got together the verano after their sophomore year in high school. Alejandra wanted to wait until she was older to “go all the way,” pero estaba enamorada de Andrés and the next summer before senior year they slept together.

They had a pretty good relación, but after graduation Andrés got accepted to art school in Chicago and he broke up with Alejandra.
 
She ended up staying in the town where she grew up and a year later she met a guy who she worked with named Luis. They got closer and closer and after a while, Alejandra knew that she and Luis would probably hook-up.
 
Then, one day while she was in the shower, she noticed some-thing that wasn’t right. She found some small flesh-colored bumps between her legs.
 
It turns out that these bumps are a disease that can be transmitted through sexual relations. Doctors call these diseases STDs (Sexually Transmitted Diseases).

“This could not be,” she thought. “There is no way I can have an STD.” Andrés was the only guy she’d ever been with and he had only been with one other person before her, as far as she knew.

Alejandra ended up making an appointment at Planned Parenthood. The doctor told her she had genital warts, a common sexually transmitted disease.

“This is a mistake,” she told the doctor. “I‘ve only been with one person, and that was over a year ago.” The doctor explained that even if you catch the virus, it may not show up for weeks, months, or even years. She told Alejandra there was no cura and that they would wait and see if treatment was necessary.
 
“Why didn’t we use condoms?” Alejandra thought to herself. “En que estaba pensando?” The worst part of it was, the doctor told Alejandra that even if the warts go away she would always have the disease. Now that she was infected by Andrés, she could pass the disease to any guy she might sleep with in the future.

Alejandra wanted to tell Luis so badly, but she couldn’t. She was too embarrassed. She broke up with him instead and has not heard from him in months. Today, she is taking time to focus on school and family instead of guys.