Rosie Dunlap
Staff Writer
Having a child while in college may not be ideal but does not mean that your life is completely over, despite what some may have to say about your situation. Your life is what you make of it, so someone else’s opinion should not affect the goals you wish to achieve.
I dislike when people make statements to young women who are pregnant like, “You are not going to graduate”, or “There goes your dreams of finishing college”, or “Now you are going to be stuck in a dead end job trying to support your baby.” These are all stereotypes that have been around for years, but it does not mean that you have to live up to them.
Whiles statistics like those from the National Conference of State Legislators (NCSL), which state that 40 percent of teen moms graduate high school; 2 percent graduate from college before the age of 30, and 80% of dads do not stick around, are discouraging, they do not have to dictate a young mom’s future.
If the father decides not to stick around, your world has not come to an end. There are several programs around the United States that will help you with your child or children. This does not mean that you have to get on a welfare program to survive either.
One program called Start Right Teen Mothers or Mentors, is for young mothers all over, and focuses on goal-setting, completion of high school and post-secondary education and sexual health, including the practice of safe sex to avoid repeat pregnancies.
Another program is the “Mother and Child Programs” offers free on-site day care so that our mothers can complete their education or hold down a job.
Young mothers need to remember a young life is now in their care. That child is depending on them and looking up to them to provide all the tools necessary to be successful in life. This should be enough motivation for them to live up to their responsibilities.
I bet you are wondering how I can be so sure of these things. Well as it happens, I became a teen mom my freshman year in high school. At that time, I began to question how I was going to be able to accomplish the goals I wanted in life. Luckily for me, one of the teachers at my school found out about a young mothers program offered at the Medical Mall in Jackson, Miss.
The program helps young mothers acquire vouchers for free childcare, so participants could complete high school and the program also offered an after school center for elementary and middle school children.
To make a long story short, I was able to graduate high school and I am now a sophomore English education major at Jackson State University. My daughter is four years old now and I am expecting another little one to arrive in August.
My journey is not over but becoming a teen mom definitely did not stop my progress. It has made things more difficult, by my goals are still attainable. I am a full-time mother, a full-time student, and I work two jobs.
If you find yourself pregnant while in school, remember that your life is not over unless you let your adversities and challenges stop your dreams. I didn’t!
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