As sophomore Danielle Morris gets ready in the morning, she has an extra step that most people may not. She brushes her teeth, ties her shoes and finishes the outfit off with a silver purity ring.

“It means basically waiting for the person I love to do something that special with,” Morris said.

Morris acquired her purity ring Christmas 2008. She asked for it because she believes that staying pure and waiting for someone you love is a gift from God.

“In the Bible it says to wait,” Morris said. “And I’m following God’s word.”

Senior Chase Tremaine received his purity ring in eighth grade. He realized the significance of the ring and his mom took him to the Christian bookstore to buy one.

“Back in those days I didn’t understand the full extent of what I was promising, but I knew it was an important thing that needed to be done,” Tremaine said.

The trend of purity rings set off in 2009. The Jonas Brothers and other celebrities began wearing them which caused teenagers to join in. However the fashion statement of the ring is sometimes stronger than the actual meaning of a purity ring.

“It infuriates me to know someone has dishonored their ring,” sophomore Mallorie Carney said. “It brings the value of the ring down and you are deceiving others into thinking you are something you’re not.”

Tremaine believes celibacy is a deliberate lifestyle change when someone chooses to set apart a section or all of their life. He also believes the ring it self can work as a reminder to the bearer about their promise but also as a representation of a greater truth.

“A promise ring represents something beyond what humans understand now-a-days,” Chase Tremaine said.

According to the Bible, in Christ’s sermon on the mount, he says if a man looks lustfully at a woman, he has already committed adultery. Tremaine believes that under those terms it’s impossible for a human being to fully honor the ring and complete celibacy.

“The ring is a promise to oneself, ones parents, and God that they will do their best,” Tremaine said.

Carney bought herself a purity ring when she was 12 and devoted herself for the second time to Christ.

“It’s a promise to my self and God,” Carney said. “Out of respect and love to him I will save that gift for who it is destined for.”

Tremaine’s belief is that when you have sex with someone you’re giving yourself to them. He presumes that if someone begins to sleep around they’ll keep giving themselves away until there is nothing left.

“A promise ring is saying you’re going to marry one person,” Tremaine said. “It’s not all about sex.”