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Of all the milestones one reaches in life, losing one's virginity can be one of the most fondly - or regrettably - remembered. Some, however, have yet to reach this milestone.
According to a 2002 report by the Guttmacher Institute, a nonprofit organization that studies reproductive and sexual health, 95 percent of Americans reported having premarital sex.
But what about the other 5 percent?
One of the more traditional reasons to hold off on getting it on is saving oneself for marriage.
Depending on your religious beliefs, remaining a virgin until you are married is a valued virtue. No wonder, since the other 95 percent of us could hardly wait to do the horizontal mambo.
My own experience in this department may be - or may not be - your typical tale: Boy meets girl, boy promises girl the moon, girl gives it up, boy spends next six months harassing girl because she broke up with his clingy ass. Ah, youth.
I scoured Chico State for the rare breed - Virginicus collegiatus - hoping to shed some light on the reasons it has decided to keep its pants on longer than most.
Believe it or not, it is awkward and difficult to A) ask random people on campus if they are still virgins, B) get them to admit to you, a perfect stranger, they are in college and still a virgin and C) get them to tell you about it.
But find them I did, only genuinely creeping out two or three people in the process. It's progress.
Virgin No. 1 is a 24-year-old male business major. He says the reason he hasn't lost his virginity is because of his shy nature and not meeting the "right one" just yet.
"My dad always told me just to not do it with a random girl I don't even care about if I'm going to do it before I get married," he said.
He's also managed to fool his roommates into think the he's done the horizontal mambo.
"I just let them assume I already lost it (with my first girlfriend) back in high school. I don't need that to be a public thing."
When I pressed for more details about what he has and hasn't done, his face turned beet red. "What is this, 'Moment of Truth'?" he said, wiping fake sweat off his brow.
But don't think he doesn't get the ladies.
"I go on dates and to bars with girls every once in a while," he said. "But a lot of them just seem too dramatic and high-maintenance."
He also admits he has few good friends who are female.
Virgin No. 2 is a 23-year-old female liberal studies major. She says the reason she hasn't lost her virginity yet is because she doesn't try hard enough and is too focused on school.
"When I go to school, I don't try to look good," she confesses, adding the majority of the people in her classes are female. "If there are no guys, I'm not going to wake up at 6 a.m. and get all done up for no reason."
She has some serious career aspirations - and no time to waste on men.
"I guess I just would prefer to get my education out of the way first. I see all these girls around campus hanging on their boyfriends all the time and I think, 'When are you getting your work done?'"
Ouch, that one cut me deep.
As hardcore as she may sound, she said she does get lonely.
"Who wouldn't want someone there when you have a bad day? It's just more risk than reward at this point," she said.
When I ask her if she's up for dating, she smiles coyly and fires back, "Why? You know someone?"
Yes I do. He's a 24-year-old business major.
Andra DeForest can be reached at sexcolumnist@theorion.com
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