The young carries the future. I believe that we as young people should have leaders, that share the same age bracket, to stand up for our human rights. As young people we are not always taken seriously. I find it to be a responsibility to support other young people like myself. Giving them a sense of pride and empowerment. It is important to me that the youth in my community have a voice when it comes to parenting, politics, healthcare, etc.
As a young parent who juggles work, household , and child things get tough and when you feel like there are no stipulations for your demographic, it’s even harder. I feel as if I make the same, if not more, decisions than the average thirty year old. It should be a responsibility to the world to encourage the young people around you to make positive choices. Whether they are socially , educationally, or financially. These things are significant in life on this big earth and so many people fall in between the cracks.
I am proud to be an example and leader for other young women. I’m not perfect, but I am real. I will forever be an advocate for the young people around me.
Influencing young people positively is not always the easiest thing to accomplish. There are some different ways that make it easy to keep young people focused on the right things. I grew up taking dance classes for the last fifteen years and I know for a fact that if I did not have dancing, I would have fallen into the wrong crowd. To this very day, I give back by teaching dance classes at the studio where I began. I continue to this because I know I may very well change some young person’s life. I believe that extracurricular activities play an important role in a child’s life. These hobbies will most likely become passions and then goals. Over the years I have developed a sense of responsibility and discipline by being engaged in something that I love to do. Every time I set foot into a class, I know that the young girls are looking at me as a role model. This is the same way I looked at my instructors as a kid. When people tell me that I have made an impact on their child, I am so humbled and I know that I have done something great for my students.
My vision is to one day be a midwife and to support young parents, just like someone did for me. I believe in passing the torch. Having support plays a huge part when it comes to young parents. As a young parent, you already feel scared and sometimes sad and disappointed in yourself. Once I gained the support of family, friends, and especially fellow co workers , I knew that I was not alone in the world. I am honored to have people to exchange experiences and advice with. The one thing that I think is important in young parenting is being knowledgeable and not feeling like you don’t know what you’re doing. Support groups are significant with young parenting success. These groups make a great impact on young parents who may be having trouble dealing with the everyday life of being a parent.
All of these things keep me wanting to wrap my arms around other young people and just show some love. They say “it takes a village to raise a child” yet so many people give up on the young people in their lives. I can honestly say that I will never walk away from this cause and it has truly become a passion and responsibility that I carry.
Stronger Generations Initiative 