Individuals in their 20s are known for many things. Whether that be the fact we can live off of cold pizza and top ramen noodles or that partying seems to be a regular, we are in our prime and often times take that for granted.

We are a part of not only an age group that is known for hookups and booty calls but also apart of a generation where love seems to be dead. It seems to us that love can hurt more than it can heal, so why waste your time on it when you can just have a hookup or friend with benefits?

In a sad but almost truthful sense, we have come to the acceptance that a one-night stand is easier than giving away our hearts. In a time of our lives where we are scared to say I love you, how do we begin to respect ourselves and bodies as much as we do our hearts?

Now, I am not saying that just because you will not commit to an individual it automatically makes you a slut or man whore because you hook-up a ton. However, being in love when you have sex and just having sex are two completely different things.

Whether a male or female, the fact is that sex is intimate and allows you to be vulnerable. Giving your body to another person should not be easy. It should not just become a norm to hook-up with whomever you want. The only thing that hooking up is going to do in the end is cause regret.

One of my closest friends shared that she thinks of it like this: when looking back at guys she has been with, she sits back and asks herself how many of those guys she would be with again. Not in the sense that she would want to have sex with them again, but would she go back and repeat the act if she had the choice not to? The answer was no a lot more than it was yes.

However, I have another friend who believes that he cannot love someone until he has sex with them. There needs to be that intimate connection to see if they mix, ultimately determining if there is a love between the two.

Although it depends on your personality, there is no reason why you cannot fall in love with a person for their personality and the way they treat you before you have had sex. The best part? Once you open your heart to someone else the sex is better because you are more comfortable.

You have heard it said that you should wait to have sex until marriage. What about just waiting to have sex until you are in love? Why does it have to be something as serious as marriage? There needs to be a middle ground, and I believe that is sharing that with someone you love.

The idea of giving away something as special as your body should be something that every person values tremendously. Just because we are young does not mean that we need to have a staggering number of people we have slept with.

So, the next time you are thinking about hooking up with that person "just because," take a step back and think: if I had to be with this person for the rest of my life, could I?