My guy and I are throwing caution to the wind

Dear Diana,
I've been going out with my boyfriendu00a0 regularly. I am 22 years old and he is 26. Whenever we meet one thing leads to another and now our romps are going totally out of control. We are throwing caution to the wind. But I am scared now for two reasons. One, what if I suddenly find myself pregnant? Second, what if this guy dumps me. We have been together for a year but have never spoken about the future. He tells me we are still young to think of marriage. Do you think he is serious about me. Or is it just lust? What should I do?u00a0
- Heena


Illustration/Satish Acharya

Dear Heena,
As they say better late than never. You have finally realised the consequences that you may have to face. First of all, if you have time for your romps, you surely have time to talk to your guy. Ask him if he is serious about you and whether he wants to take the relationship to the next level. You have let yourself go into the relationship without even bothering to know if your man is for keeps. Also, you have your fears about getting pregnant, both of you are adults and should be aware of safe sex techniques.

All work, no play!

Dear Diana,
I will be appearing for my HSC board exams in February followed by the engineering entrance exams. After going through three tuition classes, I hardly have any time left for anything else but my studies. There is the homework and weekly tests too. How can I take time out to play football with the building boys in the evenings?
-u00a0CM

Dear CM,
You are a science student so obviously you have to work extra hard for a good score. Subjects like maths need regular work as it cannot be done at the last moment. What you need is time management. You should complete your HW on the same day as soon as you can. Then devote your time for studies. Removing an hour in the evenings for play won't be difficult at this stage. Remember my boy, there are thousands of other students appearing for the board exams, so it is not that you are the only one. You have to learn to multi-task. This is a quality you need to imbibe as it will help you even later in life.

They want to know when I will tie the knot

Dear Diana,
I am 22 years old and doing my post-graduation. Everyone asks me andu00a0 my parents whether I have found a guy. As if there is no other topic of conversation but my marriage. It irritates me to no end. Why do these people have to ask me such a question? How does it concern them whether I marry or not?
-u00a0Sehra

Dear Sehra,
My dear girl, this is a question faced by several in your age group. That's how it has been in our society since ages. Let them ask what they want, we live in the world's largest democracy, so people can ask question. Why do you even react to their posers? You get going with your life. Let them keep asking and you keep evading the answer till you feel you are ready for marriage.