Article March 13, 2006 Issue

FOR TEENS

'I was grasping for SOMETHING DEEPER'

BY ALYSSA BERNSTEIN

THERE'S A CARDBOARD WHEEL on my door that reads, "Things To Do Instead of Doin' It," in bright blue letters. When you're really at a loss for alternatives to making out, you spin the wheel to select different activities, such as "Go out and . . . Go to a concert!" "Stay in and . . . Read poetry to each other!"

I took this handy tool, courtesy of the New York State Health Department, and hung it on my bedroom wall at home as a joke—I wasn't looking to avoid any of the action I got. I had just graduated from a small boarding school where hook-up opportunities were few and far between, and I wanted to learn as much as possible about making out. And learn I did—I indulged in a lot, minus sexual intercourse, with a few people—and had some shallow, and unfulfilling, relationships.

It's not like I wasn't a strong Christian Scientist. I was and am a member of The Mother Church and my branch Church of Christ, Scientist, and I had just come out of my ninth summer at a Christian Science camp.

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