While most forms of birth control are readily available in this day and age, which I think is amazing, no one talks about what happens after you start taking them. There are many girls who don't take birth control and might not be able to relate to this, and that's OK. But, for me, I believe it is the responsibility I owe myself to take birth control because I know I never want kids (at least right now) and the pros outweigh the cons.

I feel like I am always hearing from male counterparts: "Oh, birth control is so easy" or "I hate wearing condoms, why can't she just be on the pill?" It gets very annoying, knowing that they don't understand that birth control is not one and done. You have to be consistent with dosages, be conscious of your body, and understand that you are about to change completely.

Birth control is hard. There are numerous side effects to each type of birth control, and you may have to try out various forms of it until you even find one that works for you. It makes you moody, makes you gain weight, it can cause cramping, missed periods, periods that last forever, or it may not cause any changes to you. Everyone is different.

Because everyone is different, you never know how your body will react until you actually decide to use it. As a personal anecdote, I take the Depo-Provera shot, it made me gain 30 pounds and gave me birth control induced anxiety. I am currently switching and nothing about switching birth control is easy either. Again this is different for everyone, but you will probably have some sort of unpleasant side effects.

While I believe the side effects outweigh the possibility of having a kid for me personally, I think we need to talk about the reality of birth control. It is not easy on every girl's body, though it is easy to get. Do some research and understand what you or your friends/girlfriends/whatever body is going through.