ThreeSixty -

Teens receive conflicting pressures and messages about sex. ThreeSixty wants to hear about your personal struggles with sexual choices. How do you decide to have sex or stay abstinent? What pressures do you feel? What resources — parents, clinics, teachers, friends, churches, etc. — help you decide what to do? In 300 words or less, tell us your story.

To encourage you to get as personal as you want, we will not publish the name of the writer if they wish to keep their identity secret.

Deadline for submissions: Saturday, November 8.

First-place winner receives $100. Runners-up will receive $25 Target gift certificates. And the first five submissions receive a cool, ThreeSixty t-shirt.

Submit your entry

We had a lot of good essays submitted in September, but we did not award the $100 prize because we would like the contributors to get a little bit deeper in to the topics. To see examples of past winners to see what has one, check out these essays. They have one major thing in common: the authors all write from the heart.

The essays submitted in September were all very strong, but to win the $100 prize, the entries must get deeper and more personal.

Here are examples of past winners, and they all share one thing in common: the writers are speaking from the heart.

June 2008: This year, prom was for my sister by Nakami Tongrit-Green

April 2008: Lonely at lunch by Dan Becker

February 2008: Life is too hard by Ahmednur Abdi Hudle and Not just a blind kid by Kris Mitchell