My life has been relatively easy.  I have had wonderful parents and a loving husband.  Though I've made many mistakes throughout my life, I don't regret a single one because with each mistake has come learning and experience.

My biggest and best mistake was getting pregnant at sixteen years old.  I wasn't the typical high school student that just got caught up in a bad relationship or ended up going to a party and drinking too much only to find out she had slept with someone.  My relationship was a bit different.

I met my boyfriend in middle school in 1995, when I was just eleven years old and we dated for many years.  Our relationship had gone through its ups and downs but we had managed to get through the problems.  My parents liked him and we had a peacful relationship.  Of course as we got older and realized that we were too young to be tied down to one another, we decied to go our seprate ways, though we still loved each other.

So there I was, ready to enjoy my life and go on to college within a year.  It all changed when I went to a check-up one day and the nurse told me I was pregnant.  My heart sank when she spoke those words and I didn't know how I was going to break the news to my mom and dad.  It was heartbreaking to see my mother cry because of me and my parents fought between themselves blaming one another for what I had done.  It took a few months but everything turned out okay and we were again a peaceful and loving family.

My boyfriend stood by me since the beginning and was with me every step of the way.  I always say things happen for a reason and to me, it was a sign that we would be together for a long time.  He was happy, very nervous and scared but happy.  He has always been a hard worker and I knew he would always support me financially and emotionally.

Throughout my pregnancy I went to school and graduated.  I had to endure the strange looks teachers would give me and the way they would treat me differently than the other kids.  I knew they had made mistakes just like I did but the only difference was that I chose to keep my child and the other girls opted for an abortion.  I don't judge either way, some people can take responsibility for their actions and other are just too immature to deal with it at that time.

I wanted to go to college and be a doctor and all of the other things that we dream about when we are in school but things didn't turn out the way I thought.  Life has never seemd extremely hard to me.  I believe I have been blessed in every which way or form.  My parents stood by me and helped me take care of my daughter so I could finish school and my husband never abandoned me so I think I'm pretty luck to have people that care about me that much to stick by me no matter what.

I still plan to go to college some day soon.  I consider myself succcessful in many ways. 
not just financially but emotionally.  My boyfriend and I married in 2002 and we have been together ever since. I am a strong person that has never let anything get in her way.  It does bother me when a girl abandons her child just because she is a teen.  So what if you are a teen? You were big enough to have sex with someone but now that you are pregnant you are too young to take care of your child? No, it just doesn't work that way.  While I understand that not everyone has parents that support them or a boyfriend that sticks by them, you  have to be strong yourself and know how to deal with issues.

While my parents did help me out a lot, I finished school, I studied hard, I got a great job, I work very hard and I raised my child.  Nobody else did these things for me.  So if you are reading this and you are a teen who is pregnant, don't let anyone or anything hold you back.  Be strong not only for you but for that little someone that you are carrying in your tummy.  I did it and I am no superwoman, I'm just a young mother with a strong will to live my life to the best of my ability.  It's a privilege to be a mother, don't throw away the opportunity.  Never be ashamed of what you've done, just make it right.