Many young people are embracing the Generation Life message. Here's what students are saying:

23, St. Thomas School of Law

Throughout my life, I was exposed to many lies about sexuality through movies, music, TV and even pornography. I feel that the world constantly bombards guys with false messages of what it means to be a man. "Real men get wasted and hook-up with girls at parties," I heard. I was being trained to view women as mere objects valued only for how much pleasure they can give me.

Beginning in middle school, I would get drunk at parties and take advantage of vulnerable girls through empty, sexual encounters. I didn't even flinch at this kind of activity. I truly believed this is what relationships were suppose to be like.

Eventually I was involved in my first "serious" relationship. The girl was not a virgin, but I still made it clear that I didn't want to have sex. One thing led to another, and it finally got to the point where I felt so insecure that I decided to "lock her in" by giving up my virginity to her. Well, the relationship ended because there was no real love between us; we were only using each other for our bodies.

The true desires and longings of my heart conflicted with the warped mentality I had about sexuality, and I began to question what true love was. I was also faced with questions concerning God and religion. I renounced any belief in God, because up until that point God was not part of my life, and I felt He did not love me.

My life was changed at a retreat given by a vibrant 23 year-old who lived his faith in an authentic way- through his words and actions. The message of God's love and the life of Christ really impacted me through him.

From then on, I was moved to live out my Catholic faith in an authentic way. My relationships changed as well. I stopped using people as a means to gratify myself but rather saw them as beautiful creations to be treated with love and respect. I made a commitment to chastity (sexual self-control). I made a promise to God, my future wife and myself that I would live chastity by saving all intimate acts for marriage.

This new life was anything but easy. I lost many friends, became frustrated with my family and even doubted myself. But God gave me the strength and grace to grow and persevere.

After a few years of being single and nurturing a personal relationship with Christ, I met a girl named Catherine. We were attracted to each other, and I soon discovered that her exterior beauty was merely a preview of the beauty of her personality and her soul.

What most attracted me to Catherine was her relationship with Christ and her commitment to chastity. I knew that God put her in my life to show me His love in a new and unique way. Our commitment to and practice of chastity enabled us to love Christ in the context of our dating relationship.

Because of chastity, my vision of her isn't clouded with lust but rather magnified with love. We have been able to experience romance and true freedom without the burdens of insecurities, crisis pregnancies and STDs.

My commitment to chastity has not exempted me from the lies the world is constantly selling to men about their sexuality, but I have strength from Christ to resist the effects of lust from taking hold of my life. With the help of my faith in Christ, I have been encouraged and empowered to fight for what I know is true, good and beautiful.

19, Loyola Marymount University

I value many things in my life; my virginity and my purity are high on the list. Valuing these, I choose to live a life of chastity. Living a life of chastity is not easy; in fact it is one of the hardest things that I am faced with everyday. We are given such strong and powerful urges, so strong that sometimes it is the only thing that we can focus on. It is important to take those urges, realize that they are there and then choose to not let them take over.

My sexuality is a gift and I will not let anyone take that away from me. I feel that I need to protect this gift and keep it clean and pure for the one day I say "I do". I am not willing to give that gift away to just anyone. I want to be with someone who loves me enough that he is willing to wait for me; this shows me that he sees me for me and not just my body or an object for his own personal pleasure.

Chastity is played out in the single life as well as in the marriage life. Chastity is when we have self control over sexual urges. Having control over them so that they do not take over you. I have been dating this guy for over two years now and I can happily say that we have tried our hardest to remain chaste. We realize that this is a challenge and we make sure that the focus of the relationship stays where it needs to be. I do not want sex to ever be the center of my relationship with him or with anyone else. There are many things that we offer each other and many things that we can spend time doing together that do not involve sexual activity.

Living a life of chastity frees me of the needless stresses that come with a life of sex. I never have to worry about getting caught, contracting a STD, or getting pregnant. There are many other things that I already worry about in my life and I do not need to add to the list. I am a very happy person who chooses to live a life of chastity and I would like to encourage all of you to step up, take a stand for your values and be willing to accept the challenges, trust me I know they will be worth it.