Cronje and Education Head Dr Cassius Lubisi to the learners of
KwaZulu-Natal
13 February 2007
Tomorrow is Valentine's Day - an internationally recognised day for romance
and love. It is the day to tell your special person what he or she means to you
by exchanging tokens and messages. In the days before the postal service or
email, a valentine letter was attached to an apple or orange and thrown into
the window of an eligible girl's room.
While we don't expect apples or oranges to be thrown into our classrooms by
amorous learners, one can expect balloon hearts, roses, sweets and plenty of
heart-shaped cards and emails floating around. This is very exciting � guessing
who your admirer is and if you were the sender - the anxious waiting period to
see if your love will be returned.
Healthy dating relationships should start with the same ingredients that
healthy friendships have, such as good communication, honesty, and respect.
Dating relationships are a little different because they may include physical
affection, like hugging, kissing, or holding hands.
You should never feel pressured to do something that you don't want to do.
Your friend should always respect your right to say "no" to anything that makes
you feel uncomfortable. It is important that you are clear with each other
about your values and your limits. By talking about how both of you feel about
a lot of things, you may avoid getting into situations where you are pressured
into making an impulsive decision about something very important.
Part of a loving relationship for many involves intimate, sexual contact and
being close to loved ones. However, abstinence is the way to go if you truly
want to be free to pursue your dreams and goals for life. After all a healthy
relationship must start with self respect, followed by respect for each
other.
Research shows that early sexual activity has disastrous emotional, physical
and social consequences. Rather focus on creating stable, long-lasting
friendships. Abstinence has many advantages for young people. Besides not
risking pregnancy or contracting a sexually transmitted disease, there are many
other benefits, such as the:
* freedom to pursue activities that better your life
* strength to say "no" to something temporary and "yes" later to something
lasting
* freedom to focus on your future without becoming entangled in an exclusive
relationship
* freedom to build different friendships that improve your life
* freedom to take good care of your spirit, mind and body.
Then of course, there are the emotional benefits. You don't have to concern
yourself with the emotional damage that you can cause yourself by not being
ready. If you do something for which you are not ready, you will cause yourself
untold emotional anguish.
So - enjoy the romance but "Love safely and love responsibly! It's cool to
abstain!"
Issued by: Department of Education, KwaZulu-Natal Provincial
Government
13 February 2007
Source: KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Government (http://www.kzneducation.gov.za)
