A BUNDLE OF JOY THAT CHANGED MY LIFE FOREVER

Every parent has great expectations for their kids, so when they learn that a baby is on
the way, it can be upsetting and frustrating for them. Teenage pregnancies have always been
frowned upon. This story, however, is about a young girl who overcomes the impossibility at
the time of conception rather than the statistics of teen pregnancies. That young girl was me.
In 2011, I met my now-husband's boyfriend for the first time. We began dating on
December 9, 2012, after a year of getting to know one another. At that point, we are already
sexually active. As the months passed, I began to feel strangely different inside, and I started
to get a little scared. So, I took the test, and to my astonishment, the results showed that I
was pregnant. I am expecting.
Because I was doing the exact opposite of what I had been taught by my parents, I
was aware that they would be disappointed. But they helped us along the road. I also had a
few friends who were encouraging, but I also lost a lot of them in the process. I dropped
every class I had been enrolled in since I was getting ready to adopt a new mindset, and I
knew I needed to save every dime I made for this new life. It was really challenging to have a
child at such a young age because it frequently brought with it criticism, side-eye from
strangers, and rejection from those I thought would support us.
I was being responsible and went to all of my doctor’s appointments to make
sure everything was okay with my baby. After I delivered my son, success was on my mind—
not just for me but most importantly for him. Having a baby as a teenager was the best thing
that ever happened to me. It taught me many lessons in life—to become independent and
realize how hard it could be as a mother. We both strive hard to support the daily needs of our
son without asking for money from our parents. And yes! We both made it, and I'm very
proud of ourselves.

According to statistics, having a child at such a young age will make you a failure and
cause you to struggle greatly. Yes! It is, but how you respond to and deal with the
circumstance will determine how successful you are. My experience being a teen mother has
only been positive, I gained a lot of knowledge, including how to be accountable and self-
reliant and how to exclusively aim for success. It transformed me, making me a better, more
empathetic, and more responsible person.