The Problem of the Toothpaste

Friends, i am afraid I have been less than honest with you on one matter.  Perhaps some of you have guessed it already, but I've decided to clear the air in order to discuss something important.  Roughly a year ago, I had a date with Number Three which I vaguely mentioned here.  In the course of this date, I lost my virginity to Number Three.  I have a little more to say about this, but I'm saving it for a future post.  While I was very happy about it at the time, there are reasons I wish I could take it back.  The trouble with this is, it was an act which couldn't be undone.
This leads me to the analogy of toothpaste.  Once it's out, you can never put it back in the tube.  The decisions surrounding virginity are a bit of a quandary for most people our age, I think.  We're taught by the media that losing one's virginity is meant to be a special, momentous occasion, and that anyone who hasn't lost it by the time they're an adult is forever a loser.  At least this is how the idea is presented to males.  Not only that, but it's also implied that this is supposed to happen between two people who are very much in love.  Sadly, the real world doesn't work like a teen movie or a fairy tale.  In the real world, the loss of virginity is messy and emotional, and often doesn't involve love at all.  Naturally, this confuses the best of us, and we wonder what else we could be wrong about.  If having sex with someone doesn't result in love, what does it mean?  Am I broken because they didn't want me after?  Was I not good enough at it?  Am I a bad person because I did this?  I'm sure some of you may have asked yourself these same questions.  I'm not sure I have any good answers, but I will tell you some of my thoughts about these things:  Sex is meant to be an act of love, and should never be less than that.  First times are often less than ideal, but it shouldn't stop you from enjoying the experience in the future, if you choose to.  Abstinence is an admirable ideal, but can be very difficult to uphold.  Sex is powerful, and can lead to moral compromises; if this happens to you, you aren't the first one, nor the last.
Basically, my point is this:  if you're a virgin, don't stress about it.  It will happen one day, and it's going to be great.  If you've already been there, there's nothing wrong with doing it, as long as the other person agrees.