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Why Prom Is (Probably) The Wrong Night To Lose Your Virginity

Relax. You don't need to give up your V-card just because you're in formalwear.

You've picked out your dress or rented your tux. You've made plans for the afterparty -- and now you're planning for after that.

Prom is so often associated with losing your virginity. It's a night that's been built up since basically forever, in countless movies and magazine articles. Is your last high school dance really the best time to have your first sexual encounter? Honestly, probably not. Here's why.

Your school's student council shouldn't dictate when you have sex

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Prom is an arbitrary date. It was set based on the venue's availability and your student council's schedule. If you happen to feel ready on the same exact date that your school has set, that's up to you, but it's pretty unlikely that those two will perfectly coincide. If you're with the right person, you don't need a corsage to make it feel momentous.

Literally no one cares whether you're still a virgin when you graduate

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There are plenty of good reasons why people have sex; wanting to impress your friends is not one of them. Soon enough, you'll be out of high school and either in college or the "real world." In neither of these places will anyone know or care whether you went all the way before you put on that old cap and gown.

In fact, in 2013 the CDC estimated that 47% of high school students had lost their virginity, down from 54% in 1991, so people are increasingly waiting until after graduation. There's no shame in wanting more options than just the doofuses you have a locker next to.

You're more original than that

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You dyed your hair pink when everyone was getting blonde highlights. You got into The Clash when everyone else was obsessed with 5SoS. Why, then, would you lose your virginity on the most "mainstream" night to do it? This may be one instance when you'll want to jump on a trend after it's cool.

Again, it's an arbitrary date ... why regret sleeping with an arbitrary person?

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You only have one virginity to lose, and you will always remember your first time, whether it's with someone special you really care about or some rando who you convinced yourself you were into so that you'd have a date to the dance.

Giving yourself an arbitrary night to lose your virginity on may very well lead you to choose an arbitrary person to do it with. You don't want to look back and wish you'd saved it for someone better than Joe or Jane Math Class. Let how you feel about someone, not the alert on your iCal, be the indicator of whether you're ready to take the plunge.

You'll probably have more fun if you spend prom with your friends

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Relationships come and go, but you're only young with your besties once. Soon enough, all of your schedules will get busier and some of you may even be moving away next year. Go ahead and spend the night singing along to T-Swift with your girls or stomping on balloons with your boys (or singing along to T-Swift with your boys and stomping on balloons with your girls). You'll never look back and say, "Ugh, I wish I hadn't laughed so hard that night."

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