Making an Adult Decision as a Child: My Teen Pregnancy Story
From what I remember, I always wanted a baby. As a young girl, I remember writing down everything that I wanted: crib, dresser, changing table, stroller, car seat, bathtub etc. I even knew what type of bottles my daughter was going to use. I was obsessed with baby products. I believed that I was going to be an awesome mom, and I would give my child all the things that I never had.
I believed a baby would have brought happiness to my life, but that was far from the truth. At that time, my current life was far from perfect. I fought with my mother. I felt like my siblings did not understand me. I was angry. I was seeing a therapist for major depression. I starved myself half the time. I did not have a father. I dated older men. In the middle of this drama, I became pregnant. At 16, I had to make a life-changing decision. At the end, I chose to keep my baby because I was not open to abortion nor adoption. After all, this was something that I have wanted since I was 12.
I felt like I had everything under control during my pregnancy. By the time I was nine months pregnant, I had everything that I needed for my daughter. However, reality sat it on December 31, 1998: I was 16, pregnant, and alone. While most people brought in the New Year in a happy mood, I was sad. I spent my New Year’s Eve chatting and crying in an AOL chat room. My life was going to change, and I did not know if it was a good or bad thing.
My daughter was born on January 5, 1999. I was on cloud 9 for three weeks. Later, I was hospitalized for post-partum depression. During my hospital stay, I decided that I would not be like many of the teens who become parents. I was going to go to college. I was going to be financially responsible for my child. I was going to end the teen pregnancy cycle in my family.
My purpose of writing is to let girls know that your life or dreams do not end when you become a teen parent; they only stop when you stop dreaming.
