Pregnancy is both a glorious and a beautiful time.

During this time we can experience an exquisite beauty and joy of being a woman, expressing our femininity and appreciating our amazing feminine bodies. It can be a time of joy, elation, fun and heartfelt love. Every woman innately knows how to nurture and birth her children. But how can we know if we are physically, emotionally and mentally ready for this responsibility? Teen pregnancy is one of the most difficult experiences a young person might ever face when it interrupts school or other plans. It can create an emotional crisis resulting in feelings of shame and fear, and it may appear that you will crumble under pressures in your environment. The stress of how you are going to break this news to your parents might be even greater, and finding help may seem an impossible task. Facing an unplanned pregnancy can be very difficult and scary for a teenager, and deciding what to do will be even harder. No matter what her political persuasion, it always comes down to a very intimate, personal decision that no teenager makes without some degree of emotional trauma. All of the options: abortion, or raising the baby, or allowing another individual to adopt the baby carry emotional pain and personal sacrifice. There is one benefit that teen pregnancy allows that is quite commonly overlooked because of the situation. That one benefit is that it allows the child to grow up with their mother. This will allow teen moms to do things that parents dont normally have the luxury of getting to do with their child. Also, if you already planned out everything correctly, and are prepared with the finances and stress pregnancy brings on someone, especially as a teen; there really are not any cons to be seen. However, if you are not fully prepared, there are many cons to teen pregnancy. The number one and most important con of teenage pregnancy that needs to be considered is the loss of education. A lot of girls who become pregnant in their teens drop out of school because they do not like all the stares and whispers that they receive. If you do not drop out your morning sickness will cause you to miss a lot of class and as a result you will lose a lot of valuable information that you need to complete the class. Overall pregnancy will also have a very big impact on the young mother. She will going to experience a lot of pain, she's going to gain a lot of weight, and feel stress among a whole mix of other big impacts. The body of a young mother is not yet equipped to handle the extra weight that a baby will add. She will not be able to go out and socialize with her friends because she will have no one to babysit. She will miss out on dates, proms, and all the other fun social events that she would be able to attend if you were not pregnant. This will begin to make her feel isolated and alone.

Another huge con against teenage pregnancy is the financial responsibility that it will cost the young mother. Babies come with a huge price tag. Think about the price of diapers, formula, and daycare. This does not include the cost of clothes and other essentials. In my own personal opinion, there is a right time for everything, may it be for moving out, in entering relationships or having a child. As a teen, I know that I am not ready to be a mother and I am not yet financially stable to support my child. Aside from the financial aspect, we must also consider the effect of having a child at an early age emotionally. There must be an open communication between the parents and their child about this somewhat sensitive issue. They must be aware of the consequences of having a child at an early age. Not only that, but we must also consider finding someone who's responsible enough to stand by you through thick and thin, be able to provide you not only with financial support but someone who is willing to give you moral and emotional support but sometimes that is not the answer to the problem, sometimes we can get through with our problems with the help of the people around us, our families and friends. True friends whom we can count on.

Fashion re-invents itself from time to time, with some modern touches fashion breathes from its age old roots. Culture and fashion have a strong connection and both keep influencing each other making it two sides of the same coin which is used everyday. Fashion designers are using mixture of traditional and modern techniques, ideas and views to create new trends. The fusion of old and new helps sets new trends. China is an age old country with strong history and cultural values which their fashion clearly connotes, for example age old motifs such as guardian deities, lions and masks of Chinese opera characters. Xia and Shang Dynasties embarked the dress system in China which enthused the distinctions as to color, design and adornment of dress among the emperor, officials and the common people. During the Sui and Tang dynasty the unity of ancient China and the prosperity of economy provoked a revolution in ideas, thought process with the dresses becoming more and more splendid. During the Song and Ming dynasties because of the intensity of the feudal ideology, the patterns of dress and adornment gradually became conservative whereas by influence from western cultures, the designs were more fitting and tasteful from late Ming. An outstanding characteristic of traditional Chinese clothing is not only an external expression of elegance but it encompasses an internal symbolism. Today, Fashion designers should use a mixture of traditional and modern ideas to create new fashions. Some of the examples which shows influence of Chinese culture on modern fashion includes modern bridal tiara based on the designs from Sung dynasty and the Hunan Province style of embroidered sash made in the traditional colors of pure red, blue, and green. From these examples, it can be seen how traditional Chinese dress is the foundation of modern fashion. Chinese bronze is another source of printed, woven, embroidered, and applied design for clothes. Some of the distinctive designs include dragons, phoenixes, clouds, and lightning. Motifs from traditional Chinese painting also end up in woven or printed fashion designs. Types of Chinese clothing There is no uniformity of information as far as the main dress of china is concerned, different dynasties brought in new forms and reforms. Different experts claim different dresses as the main dress of china. However the three main types of Chinese clothing include Pienfu, the Chang-pao and the Shen-i. The peinfu is a two piece traditional

ceremonial costume similar to a tunic top extending to the knees along with a skirt or trousers extending to the ankles. The Chang-pao is a one-piece garment extending from the shoulders all the way to the heels, whereas a cross between the two is the shen-i type. Shen-I consists of a tunic and a skirt or trousers like the pien-fu, but the tunic and the skirt are sewed together and essentially one piece like the ch'ang-p'ao. Out of all the three types Shen- I was the most widely used type.

Chinese clothing and current fashion One of the Chinese dresses getting attention from the fashion community is the cheongsam. Cheongsam is a female dress with distinctive Chinese features. The actual meaning of the word cheongsam is a long dress whereas the dress is also known by the name of gipao. There is a long history behind the name and the dress itself. It is believed that when the early Manchu rulers came to China they started calling a group of them as banner people (giren). The Manchu women wore one piece Chinese dress known as gipao or banner dress. In spite of political changes the dress survived and later went on to become traditional dress of the Chinese women. Cheongsam has high collar which is closed with sleeves which can be short, medium or long depending on the season and taste. The dress is buttoned on the right side with a loose chest, fitting waist and slits up from the sides which aids in accentuating the female shape. The dress is easy to slip on and comfortable to wear. The basic designing of the dress is very simple and it does not require many accessories to go with it. The dress transforms itself into different piece altogether with different materials with varying lengths. They can be worn on casual or formal occasions. The overall impression the dress creates is of elegance and charm. Due to its simple cuts and stylish silhouettes the dress is admired by women all over the world. The word cheongsam is used for male and female dress both. Today the cheongsam is used as uniforms in many airlines in China, Thailand and Singapore. They are mostly made of rubber or silk with plain color, bottom three fourth down to the upper legs with a body fitting wool suit of the same color of cheongsam. Few primary schools in Hong Kong have cheongsam as their uniform. Colors Traditional Chinese clothing preferred darker hues over lighter shades. During the ceremonies or functions people generally preferred wearing darker colors enhanced with elaborated embroidered or woven tapestry designs rendered in bright colors. For every day clothes, lighter tones were used. Colors were used as symbolism of seasons, green color was used as symbolism of spring season, red for summer, white for autumn and black for winter. Chinese designers and culture had performed thought provoking

analysis to develop a system of matching, coordinating and contrasting colors and shades of light and dark in apparel. Over the years traditions have influenced our modern day wear and Chinese civilization keeps leaving the footprints of its culture time and again.