Motherhood Brings Hardship And Rewards

On the day of my 17th birthday, Oct. 6, 1992, becoming a mother and a wife was years away in my plans for life. Exactly one week later, these life plans changed dramatically. I was at the beginning of my junior year and three years into my on-again, off-again relationship with my boyfriend.

The news that I was pregnant came as a shock. I just thought that I couldn’t get rid of a really bad flu. Well, it didn’t go away. It wasn’t the flu. I must say I didn’t know what to do. I guess I thought it would never happen to me. I listened closely in my sex education classes in high school, but I still got pregnant. I truly just never thought it would happen to me.

My boyfriend (now my husband) and I decided to keep the baby. It was a hard decision, but the best one for us. I had to drop out of school, because I had a complicated pregnancy and was in and out of the hospital and required months of bed rest.

The last three years of my life have been the hardest for us, but the best, too. Britney has definitely been an enormous inspiration for me to try twice as hard to make it in life. My husband Jeff has been a wonderful daddy and husband. I feel blessed because I know most teen dads don’t stick around.

But being parents so young has been a long, hard job. My husband finished high school while working and running track. After Britney was born, I got my high school equivalency degree. We both work; I have a parttime job. We recently bought a house. Britney’s great-grandparents watch her for us when we’re at work. Our families have provided tremendous support.

One of the hardest parts of being a teen mom was losing all my friends and feeling very alone. But I have tried to live by something my mom told me when we decided to keep the baby. She said, “The family will stand behind you. But you have to live up to your responsibility and not just enough to get by.” She also said, “We are not going to raise this baby for you.” Then she told us that as long as we knew we were doing our best, we should hold our heads high and be proud!

I have tried to live by that. And I’ve tried to reach out to high school students. I tell teens to wait to have sex. I tell them if they do get pregnant, it is their responsibility. Do your best and be proud. Your love will come out through your child’s smile.