Every Parent is Different

Being a young parent has really empowered me. All of the statistics and stereotypes can really make a person inferior. We don’t finish high school or we just live off of government assistance. Going through everyday routines of having people stare at you as if you don’t have a right to be a parent. An older lady looks at me and says “I know that’s not your baby”.

Over the last six months I’ve reached some goals that at one point were impossible to me. I now have a steady job and still making money doing things I love to do. I now have the means to move out on my own and provide a home for my son. I feel as if I can be a role model to others and set an example for those who may feel as if things may never get better. I felt that I would never be able to crawl out of the barrel that I sat down in… without realizing that I may not have a way out. The support from my fellow ambassadors and other young parent advocates helped to push me to get up and change things for the better. With that being said, I’ve realized that every parent is different. The fact is that being young parents is our “normal”.

Being a woman of color on top of being a young parent makes life even tougher. I was born with a preconceived thought of what I would become. My mother was a teen parent and I’m a young parent. That’s why I’ve made it goal in life to educate young parents around the world. And we must stick together and fight this war and set an example for those who will inevitably come after us.