To the girl with the pregnancy test in the grocery store bathroom, waiting impatiently to see her results, you will survive. To the girl with the packed backpack full of clothes and photos, getting kicked out by her parents because she is pregnant, you will survive. To the girl with the boy who left her because he won't own up to his responsibilities of being a father, you will survive. To the girl going into labor who is scared of the change her life will have when she gives birth, you will survive. To the girl with the life plan who can not bring a child into the world yet, you will survive. To the girl with the pain in the hospital room alone without an infant to take home, you will survive. To the girl with the crying infant who has not slept in weeks, you will survive. To the girl with the scrutiny of society because she became pregnant as a teenager, you will survive. I will not lie and say you will be ok, because life is a roller coaster and no one knows if life will get better or worse, but I do know you will survive through this journey. You will come out stronger and wiser than before. You are not defined by the words and judgments of others. You are defined by your perception of who you are, not anyone else's.

When a woman becomes pregnant, she is a mother. When a teen becomes pregnant, she is a statistic. When a woman gives birth, the world shows nothing but prosperity and hope for her and her child's future. When a teen gives birth, the world sets her destination for failure. When a woman is asked how old, it is always how old is her child. When a teen is asked how old, it is almost always referring to her age, not her child's. When a teen becomes pregnant, everybody likes to act as if they are mathematicians. That they are allowed to throw statistics every which way, as if it helps the situation (it doesn't). A person who has truly studied statistics knows that, not one person is the same and that these percentages are just estimates. Not one adult is the same, not one teen is the same. When a teen decides to keep a child, it is almost mandatory to hear the unsolicited advice of adoption and abortion. Yes I am a teen. No I am not qualified by law as an adult. But I made the decision to have sex, so I am allowed to make the decision of what I will do with "MY" unborn child. You can not decide for me. It's not so much that I care that I am a statistic. In fact I don't give a shit what the world believes I am incapable of doing. No, the thing that always hits me the hardest is when they begin to throw statistics at my child, as if he were just a number. Say what you will about me, but my son does not need to grow up thinking that because his mom was a teen when she had him, that he is more likely to be a teen father or go to prison, than the boys who were not born to teen moms. How dare you say that! It was not his decision to come into this world, so don't label him for my actions. I can't stop people from asking me questions about my age or looking at my son and I as if I were just his babysitter. But what I can do is challenge the way America and the world thinks, and raise my son with the mind set that no matter what curveball life throws you, you can accomplish whatever your heart desires. Even if life throws you in the grand canyon and it seems impossible to get out, you can because God gave you the strength and love to believe in yourself and to succeed. Cowards die many times before their deaths; the valiant never taste of death but once. William Shakespeare "Julius Caesar"

Smiley Baby Boy

You Decide!