You never believe that just in the blink of an eye everything can change, until it happens. No one knows why bad things have to happen to anyone, especially to the kindhearted people. One thing about this thing we call 'life' is identical to a roller coaster because to get from start to finish you have to go through all the ups and downs.

Nichole went through a lot throughout her life, especially in high school. Her first year was extremely hard on her from leaving her hometown in South Dakota, to moving to a ghost town in Maine. She had no friends, not even family in Maine. Nichole had to move due to her father being in the Air Force leaving her friends and family behind. She struggled with depression throughout her freshman year, and once she thought it went away all the demons came back to haunt her.

One day Nicole was at her girlfriend’s house and she noticed something strange on her lower body. Nichole was hoping it was just an annoying razor burn, but what killed her was the gut feeling she had that it was something more serious than a razor burn. It only took about two days for these bumps to spread an numerous amount. Tears fell out of her eyes like waterfalls, thinking her life was a joke. She did research on it and realized what she had was a sexually transmitted disease. Nichole was petrified to tell her parents, especially her father. She knew she needed to be treated right away because it got to the point where she would be in severe pain walking and urinating.

Nichole did not know what to say to her mom, but knew that she could not tell her mom the truth because she thought her mom would be ashamed of calling Nichole her daughter. Nichole told her mom to bring her to urgent care because she had a “rash” on her leg. Nichole felt disgusted and ashamed that a doctor had to look at her like this. The doctor told her that the rash looked unusual to her, and all it took was for that one word to break Nichole; herpes. Tears fell down her face as the doctor was telling her all she knew was that it is herpes, just not sure which type it is. Walking out of the waiting room, embarrassed and disgusted, her mother knew something was not right with Nicole. She broke her mother’s heart when she had to tell her that she now has a sexually transmitted disease that she is going to live with for the rest of her life.

Genital herpes is very common today in the United States. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) website, one out of every 6 people in the age groups of 14 until 49 years old have genital herpes.

A few months went by when it was time for her regular physical exam check up at her primary care doctor. All Nichole wanted was to get cleared so she can play the one activity that helps keep everything off of her mind. Physicals were annoying to Nichole, especially when they made her micturate into a cup. Nichole was too caught up dealing with wondering constantly which type of herpes she had, that it did not make her realize that there was a high chance of her being infected with another STD.

After her practice she wanted to show the football team some school spirit considering she rarely did anything anymore except cry and sleep in her room. During the football game she received a phone call from her primary care doctor telling her news that destroyed her more than she already was. “I hate to be the one to tell you this, but you are infected with an STD known as Chlamydia.” She was in such shock having no expression on her face except for her jaw dropping. Running away hysterically crying and hyperventilating, not knowing what to do anymore because there was no fighting left in her.

Chlamydia is a sexually transmitted disease that can be found in both men and women and can cause permanent damage to a female's reproductive system if not treated immediately or correctly, according to the CDC website. Most people who have chlamydia have no symptoms like Nichole, others can have symptoms such as abnormal vaginal discharge,or burning when urinating. Men can have symptoms such as a discharge from their penis, burning when urinating, and pain or swelling in one or both testes, according to CDC.

Nichole knew she was depressed, as well as her mother, but her mother did not want to admit it. Nichole tried killing herself a few times within the year. She was shameful and disgusted with her appearance and overall self in general. She knew this would eventually make her stronger, but in the mean time it destroyed her mentally and emotionally. To this day she still constantly fights off insecurities even though she tries not to show it. She did not get put on anti-depressants because she knew a few people that were put on them and got more depressed. She fought herself every day trying to not make her self-esteem lower than it already was.

Nichole was put on a powder for four days, which made her very nauseous each time she had it. According to the WebMD Amoxicillin, Azithromycin, Doxycycline, Erythromycin, Levofloxacin, and Ofloxacin are used to treat this STD.

Chlamydia left her system within four days because she used all her medication, but she knows that she is more prone to get this disease again if she does not use protection and be more cautious when she is having intercourse. It took over six months for her to know the truth about which type of herpes she was infected with. It took almost a year for doctors to tell her that because she had chlamydia she broke out in cold sores on her genital due to stress. The day all the puzzle pieces came together was when she was told she has HSV 1. Having HSV 1 can cause genital outbreaks.

She did not know that she had HSV1 or HSV2 for almost a year, and had chlamydia on top of that as well. She never really thought she would be in the predicament where she would get not just one, but two sexually transmitted diseases. For a year she was learning how to cope with having an STD. She hurt herself because the pain she got from cutting herself numbed the pain she had from knowing she will never be the same. Not only did she feel hopeless for so long, she felt ashamed and disgusted with herself. Nichole gave up for awhile until she realized that there is nothing she can do to change what has happened to herself, except to learn how to love herself and accept her flaws. If she did not start learning to love herself, no one else would.

While overcoming this hardship she finally figured out what she wanted to do for the rest of her life. Nichole wanted to go to college and study in the nursing program to become an OBGYN. This job is a physician gynecologist who treats diseases in the female organs. Nichole realized that is was so hard to talk about what she went through with anyone. She wants to help females, especially teenage girls who have STDs to tell them that if they do discover they have an STD to not give up, but to keep fighting. Everyone is worth much more than to only be wanted for your body and not wanted for yourself as a whole. Your body is special, and the right person will come along to see that their is much more to a person than what is under their clothes, it’s what kind of heart they have.

Thankfully chlamydia is both treatable and curable. This disease can be in both men and women, but tends to be more common in women which can damage a woman's reproductive system. For the infection to go away you must take all of your medication for it to work correctly. Unlike chlamydia, herpes has two types to it. According to the Health Line Website the first type is HSV 1 causes sores around the mouth and lips, but can also cause genital herpes. The second type is HSV 2 where sores are usually in the genital area, or from the waist down. There is no cure for either type of herpes, but there is medication such as Famvir, Zovirax, and Valtrex for when you have a breakout.