The county’s Better Beginnings Coalition, Teen Parenting Programs and Resource Mothers Program sponsored a writing contest for area teens on the subject of teen pregnancy.
These are the young mothers who wrote on the theme “Choices, Changes, Children — What choices could you have changed to help you postpone parenting?”
First place winners received $100, second place winners, $50, and third place, $25.
A Mother and Stuck
By Tekeia Bush
First place Winner
Category: English language
A young teenage mom not even 18 yet and stuck.
I thought he loved me
But obviously not a lot.
He said he would be there
But he’s not. He has another child to worry about
That’s not fair.
But gee, when I think about it, life is not fair.
I know everybody is going to go through a lot of grief in their lives
And all I have to do is to thank God and move on.
I was so stupid and naïve to lie down with that man.
As a matter of fact I shouldn’t have been pressured into drinking
And smoking that’s where it all starts.
Why didn’t anybody talk to me about the meaning of true love?
Now 17, a mother and stuck.
You thought people were going to be there for you, but they’re not.
You cant really do everything normal teen girls do anymore.
You ask for a babysitter and at first they say OK and when they
Realize how your child is, they say they can’t today, maybe next time.
Well, I say fine.
My friends want me to go out but now I can’t—
I am Stuck.
Men do tend to act so nice in the beginning, like buying you nice
Things but as soon as you say you’re pregnant, men would
Automatically say that “it is not mine” and would be calling you all sorts of names!
And I know that hurts so don’t put your life and heart in that situation.
I should’ve thought twice before lying down with that man.
I should’ve waited at least until I finished college to have a baby.
Life is so precious and our bodies, our beautiful bodies
Are a very special gift that should be kept for that special someone—
Now I am a mother and stuck.
It’s OK
By Karen Miranda
First place winner
Category: English language
It’s OK when you become a teenager.
It’s OK to meet a guy, and ask for advice when it comes to meeting boys.
It’s OK to feel pressure at times from family and friends.
It’s OK to say no! to a guy that just wants to have sex.
In a relationship there is no need to go under each other’s pants.
It’s OK to wait to have children and first finish your goals and accomplish
Everything that you want in life. So you won’t have to depend on no one,
But yourself.
So I wish that many times that someone would have told me that everything would be OK since I made the choice to become a teenage mom—
That someone would have advised me to wait to have children
Because honestly, it’s not OK!
For me and for my wonderful 1-year-old son,
Like I would have wanted it to be.
No Title
By Telma Granados
Second place Winner
Category: English language
My name is Telma; I am 18 years old. I have a 3-year old daughter. I love my daughter very much, but I wish that I had waited at least ten years. My mother could have done things differently. The way that I was treated when I was growing up had a lot to do with me getting pregnant.
When I started my menstrual cycle, I didn’t know what it was. My mother never talked to me about sex, issues that I had as a teen, or birth control. I never had the relationship that a mother should have with her daughter. Partly, because that is how she was raised by her parents.
One day, this wonderful man came by. He told me about a world where I wasn’t going to be physically abused by my stepfather, where I didn’t have the responsibility of taking care of my three brothers and a sister. A world where I was going to have the freedom to do anything that I wanted. A world where I wasn’t going to feel stupid and unwanted. With him, I felt that I was getting the love that I so much desired from my family. He was someone that I trusted and I could tell my troubles.
I have been through a lot. It has been everything but easy. The biggest challenge has been being a mother and a full-time student. But now it’s too late to turn back, I keep my forehead up high and tell myself that I will achieve and do everything that I wish for, but it’s only going to take me longer than someone who doesn’t have all the responsibilities that I have. My message for you is to think twice before you take the next step. And to the parents, try to establish a good relationship with your son or daughter. It could be the world to the child.
No Title
By Stephanie Olean Chapman
Second Place Winner
Category: English language
My first choice to change the timing of my pregnancy would be to ask more questions in health class. I would have asked more about how I could have prevented it, more than just the pill. I would have asked about the outcomes of pregnancy, more than just throwing up, because I didn’t.
My second choice would be making a schedule to keep me busy at all times until I got home. I would have enrolled myself into more community programs. I would have tried to get a job or stay after school and study. I would have stayed away from the bad influence of people and in the situation where someone would have asked me, “Do you want to do it?”
My third choice would have been saying “no.” I was nervous, inexperienced, and scared. There were a lot of things going on in my head that I did not give an answer.
My last choice would have been waiting longer to have sex.
Growing Up Fast:
The Story of a Teen Mom
By Dafne Terron
Third place winner
Category: English language
The first time I held my son I thought there was nothing that could compare to this feeling. I thought that I would just wrap him up and take him home, and that my life would be wonderful now that I had added someone so special to it. Well, it wasn’t that easy. I am 17 years old and a senior in high school. The prom is approaching and the once active life that I led has completely changed.
I became a teen mom. I never meant for it to happen, but it did. What I thought would be a blissful occasion has turned into a nerve-racking event. My life turned upside down as the responsibility of being a parent was added to it. I was 15 years old when I got pregnant. I thought about abortion or adoption, but I thought that it was too cruel, and made a final decision to keep him. At the beginning, my parents were really angry. For months we couldn’t have a conversation without screaming or crying. I couldn’t look them in the eyes for I knew how much I had disappointed them. I stayed in school throughout my pregnancy, until I went into labor. My labor lasted for 22 hours; it seemed like forever. The pain was so terrible I cannot explain it. The first night I brought my son home, I couldn’t sleep. Not only because of the discomfort, or the baby waking up every two hours, but just worrying how I was going to raise a child when I hadn’t grown up myself.
Now as I watch my son growing up, I sometimes think that I’m not the best mom I can be and that he deserves something more. All my high school friends are gone. At first they thought having a baby was cool, but soon they realized that I couldn’t just go out when they wanted me to. So we spaced out. Now going out isn’t that important to me anymore. If I do plan to go out, I have to get the baby ready, pack his food and clothes, put him in the stroller and go.
I will finish high school in the summer, thanks to the support of teachers and family. And I do plan on going to college, even though I know it will be hard. What I know is that all I can think about is getting the best for my son, and sacrificing myself so that hopefully he will have a better future than mine. I wish that I could turn back time. If I could I would do things so differently. I just feel like I wasn’t ready to grow up. I wanted to keep going out with my friends and not having to worry about anything. But now it is too late. I already have the responsibility on my hands and no way out. All those days of going out and being a regular teenager are over. Now I have to be a mother. What I would have done differently is just not have sex, I would have enjoyed my life as much as possible and wait until I thought I could raise a child. And if I did have sex, I would have used protection. Even though it is not 100 percent sure, it would have helped a lot. I also would have listened more to my parents. Now I know that. They were so right.
So, my advice to all the young people is to enjoy your lives, be teenagers, have friends and have fun. Also, don’t be afraid to say “no!” It’s your body and nobody can force you into doing anything you don’t want to. Make sure that you don’t let people manipulate you. Make your own decisions. And please, think twice before you take another step. Don’t forget that the consequences could not only hurt you, but also the people that love you and care about you.
No Title
By Wendy Vasquez
First Prize Winner
Category: Spanish language
(Translated from Spanish)
First, adolescents need to be aware of their actions because whatever they sow, they will reap, be it good or bad. Listening to one’s parents is very important, because they want what is best for their children. So that in the future, they will not have to suffer the way, many times they have.
Everything changed in my life when I became pregnant. I had another being growing in my abdomen who was innocent despite my behavior and my irresponsibility. All of this happened to me because I didn’t listen to my parents. But I thank God because He provided me an understanding mother. My mother did not turn her back on me. She helped me in the most difficult and neediest moments in my role as a mother. I thank her because she has always supported me. But we need to remember that not all parents react in the same way. Many adolescents who become pregnant are rejected by their parents, prejudged by them, and may even be pushed into having an abortion.
Teens need to keep in mind that having a child is a responsibility, because children need to be given care, attention and love from their parents. Children shouldn’t be raised without a mother or a father. To be parents, we need to be ready physically, psychologically and economically. The most important thing is that a couple should be married before God and by law so that they may always be a family.