See yourself in the reflections of other teens. Check out these inpirational stories!

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Teenage Mom; the label rolls off the tongues of elders like a disease. Guess what? I am a teenage mom and I am proud that I have overcome adversity to raise my son to be a good person. I got pregnant in high school, my senior year, and my baby's father was in college. I hid my pregnancy from the school district and graduated 7 and a half months pregnant. Let me tell you, now, that abortion was not an option mainly because I did not realize that I was pregnant until I was 4 months along. Yet, after seeing my son's face for the first time, I know that abortion would not have been my choice, anyway. My baby's father and I waited four months after my baby was born to get married because even though we had a child together, that did not mean that we had to be together.

My husband and I married when he was 20 and I was 18, and we are still together. My main message that I would like to convey is that even though there are tons and tons of negative views on teenage pregnancy, each teenage pregnancy is different. My husband realized that a minimum wage job was not going to provide enough for our family, so he joined the Army. We now have everything paid for, including rent (we live in military post housing), cost of living allowance, medical care, and we even get our college paid for. We are not drug users, never have been, and we do not abuse or mistreat our son.

I know that teenage pregnancy can be scary, and I do not recommend it, but the choices are yours; know that there is at least one (mine and my husband's) story out there that turned out wonderfully. So before you let society label you as a teenage mom or teenage dad, remember that you are first a mom or dad, and that your life will not "end." It merely requires creative thinking to provide yourself a means to get over the "obstacle" to pursue your dreams. I am 19 now, my husband 21, and we are both college graduates from University of Maryland, thanks to the accelerated programs that the Army provides.