Alyssa used to take the pill, but got tired of remembering to take it every day. So she decided to try the shot when her doctor recommended it—and hasn’t looked looked back since.
She also won’t look when she’s getting the shot, because she hates needles. With a passion. But Alyssa finds taking birth control every 3 months is sooo much easier than taking it every day. So she just reminds herself that a little prick is not so bad compared to giving birth.
I work full time as a customer service administrator, and I’m also a student full time, so I’m really, really busy all the time. Five years from now I hope to be actually working at my same job, just promoted some more times, hopefully, because I really love my job. I’m good at what I do, so I’m going to stick with it. I have been with my boyfriend for four years, since high school my sophomore year. So I don’t see him going anywhere any time soon, so I think I’ll be with him for a while still. I don’t even know how I make our relationship work, to be honest. He’s my first real boyfriend. So I think I felt like I grew up with him, so we’ve helped each other out, figured out how each other works, so I think we’re good together. I decided to get Depo after I was on birth control pills. The pills are really hard to – to remember to take every day at the same time, so my doctor suggested to get the Depo shot. And I figured I would try it, and I’ve been with it ever since. With the Depo shot, I really like that I don’t have to remember to do it every day. It’s easier to do. Just go in, get the shot, plan your next appointment three months later and that’s it. It’s easy. I hate shots with a passion, so every time I go to get it, I just don’t look, just get it over with. Something I just have to deal with. It’s easy – it’s easier for me to get the shot than take a pill, so just suck it up and take it. I overcome my fear of needles thinking about giving birth. That, I think, would be more painful than a shot. So I just look the other way and just clench up like this and then it’s done. It’s like a second. It’s not that bad. I think I definitely want to have kids. I’m pretty sure. I just feel like right now I don’t have the patience for that. I don’t – I can’t deal with staying up all night with a crying kid, not being able to do what I want because my kids take – right now I’m just really, really selfish. I’m sure I’ll grow out of it. Everyone probably does. But right now, no. My name is Alyssa. I’m 20 years old, and I’m on the Depo shot.