Last week, classes resumed and we all fled our homes for the greener pastures of TCU. Or should I say the blazing heat and chaotic construction? Anyway, it’s a small price to pay for the great levels of freedom that we all enjoy in college – freedom that we sometimes abuse.You can see it in the high-fives of the frat boys and the nervous giggles of the girls. It has the unmistakable scent of sweat and cheap cologne and it glazes its victims over with a feeling of emptiness and depression. The villain, my friends, is casual sex.

I know, I know. You’ve heard the same song and dance 2 million times before. Why shouldn’t you just put this paper down, and head off to your next class? Before you do that, however, I would highly urge you to reconsider.

This is in no way, shape, or form like a pastor’s “fire and brimstone” sermon. You know, the kind that used to scare the crap out of you when you were 5 – the kind that said your entire family would burn in eternal hellfire because you cheated on your spelling test. It’s a tad bit different.

Look, I’m not trying to be a buzz kill. Odds are if you’ve already put your mind to dancing the horizontal mambo with every hot girl in your English class, there’s nothing I can do to sway your actions. However, I advise you to take a good, hard look at yourself before you do.

Sex, put on its proper pedestal and treated with respect, is one of the finer experiences of human existence. However, our society has turned it into a glorified manifestation of faux love involving no more genuine attachment than two horses at a stud farm. Do you want to have dirty, horselike sex while a bunch of farmers watch? Didn’t think so – that would be disgusting.

The fact of the matter is that humans were given the gift of love, something that no other animals can engage in, or even comprehend. But what do we do with that gift? We bastardize it. Guys do it by purchasing the jumbo boxes of condoms at Sam’s Club and then convincing girls that it means they are interested in safe sex, not the fact that they “do it” with a bunch of sketchy partners carrying an untold numbers of STDs. Girls do it by using the “I just want to have some fun” defense. I’ve got news for you sweetheart, puppies and cotton candy are fun; sex with multiple partners is not.

I also understand that the whole “sex after marriage” concept is almost non-existent in today’s world. At no point in this column am I advocating total and complete sexual abstinence. If you care deeply about someone and just can’t wait for the wedding day, go right ahead. Be safe, be smart and use protection. Just make sure that it’s someone who you could see yourself spending the rest of your life with because you never know when little “Kevin Jr.” could be on the way. Five minutes of sexual action while listening to John Mayer’s “Your Body is a Wonderland” isn’t worth spending the next five decades of your life with someone whom you don’t truly love.

The bottom line is that we all make mistakes, I am by no means perfect, and neither is anyone else. What we all need to realize is that we have the power to shape our lives, and every action that we perform either leads toward a fulfilling life or an existence steeped in regret. The choice is ours.

David Hall is a freshman news-editorial journalism major from Kingwood. His column appears every Tuesday.