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Teen Parenting: The Sacrifice Nobody Seems to Talk About
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I got pregnant when I was 16 and officially became a mother one month after turning 17.
I was fairly well brainwashed by the culture I lived around — the Mormon culture. Even though we did not attend church, growing up in Utah where the mentality saturates the entire area, I still internalized thoughts like:
- I don’t want to work
- I want to have lots of babies
- I want to stay at home and raise my babies
I remember in high school meeting with my guidance counselor. She told met that girls who don’t have goals end up getting pregnant. So we were supposed to set goals. Education goals. Career goals. All of the important goals.
I went to those meetings quarterly as required, but I never internalized them.
I have a sister who, from the day she was born it seems, loved sharks. She knew she wanted to be a marine biologist since before I can remember. And she did it. Sort of.
