Melanie and Randy

Our Story:

I'm going to be honest... We were not "model" kids. We started having sex our junior year, and we were so into each other that both of us could care less about high school — let alone our future. Adults around us kept insisting these were the best years of our lives and we were determined to have as much fun as we could, despite the risks.

Sometimes, Randy would sneak out of his house at night and come to be with me so we could wake up together in the morning, just like we were married. I loved being with him and I never thought for a moment we wouldn't always be together.

That summer, we came face-to-face with our future when I missed my period. I was scared, but it seemed OK because I loved Randy, and I thought I was prepared to have his baby.

Randy was wonderful when I broke the news to him. He said he could sell his motorcycle and guitar to help with expenses and insisted on quitting school to get a job. Although it was noble of him to want to help, I realized how bad all this sounded.

All I could think of is "our baby" and how our young family would struggle. Randy was going to be a high school drop out and I was going to be a teenage mother living at home with my parents. All our dreams and goals were going to have to be put on hold...

But then I realized; we didn't have any goals.

Thankfully, the missed period turned out to be a false alarm, and life resumed. Only this time, with some major changes.

Randy and I talked and we agreed that we needed to set some goals if we wanted to insure a future together. We spent an entire evening writing them down as they came to mind, and with every new goal, both of us began to get excited about were we could go.

First, we knew a high school diploma was a necessity, and both of us still had a good shot at college.

Randy wanted to try his best at getting into a vocational school for auto body and I was excited about going to art college and becoming a teacher. We talked about where we wanted to live, the type of house we wanted to live in, and the age we be when we would have children. It was so much fun dreaming.

But here was the biggest surprise. Randy said something that totally swept me off my feet. He said that he wanted to start all over again — this time without sex. He shared things with me that I never imagined and I realized how important I was to him.

Both of us thought it would be really cool to have a "perfect wedding night" where everything was new to both of us. I know what you're thinking...¦ since we already had sex, how could we be virgins again?

Abstinence renewed our respect and commitment for each other, removed our worries about missed periods, and made our wedding night a beautiful, passionate memory we'll always remember.

Today, we're happily married and I'm teaching fourth graders art and music. Randy started a collision repair business with his uncle Mac and is doing really well. Sometimes I think about that summer and count my blessings when I think how different my life could have been.