by M. A. Gallant

Created on: September 09, 2010   Last Updated: May 24, 2012

Everyone knows that teenage mothers face many hardships. However, for those brave young women who embrace their situation, there can also be a few rewards. My daughter, Nicole, was born when I was seventeen years old. This forced me to endure many challenges, but along the way I have found that being a young parent also has some hidden benefits. I would never advocate for teen pregnancy, but if it happens, it doesn't have to ruin a girl's life. 

Like most of my classmates, I planned to attend college. My hope was to study marketing and become an advertising executive. I pictured myself as an adult working in a high-rise office building, wearing a smart suit and uncomfortable shoes. However, by the time I graduated high school, the rigors of being a parent had taken a toll on me. I was exhausted by my daily struggle to fulfill my duties as a mom, while trying to keep my grades up and hold a full-time job. Also, going to school all day and working most of the night was causing me to miss important parts of my daughter's life. She sat up on her own for the first time while I was in class. I was working when she spoke her first word, which was “Nana,” instead of “Mommy.” Most of our quality time together was spent sleeping. This made me decide that it was just not the right time for me to go to college, so I entered the workforce instead. After working many different jobs over the next few years, I got a position with a national magazine. It wasn't quite my dream job, but I was in the advertising department. The funny thing is- I hated it! Looking back, I am glad that I didn't spend four years studying marketing.

As my daughter grew older, I began to find a lot of little things that made me happy to be a young mom. For one thing, I was much more relaxed than the seasoned adults around me. Older people seemed to come unraveled by the very things that define a baby. If Nicole cried during a trip to the grocery store, my mom would get embarrassed and agitated, as if babies were not expected to ever be fussy in public. A spilled glass of milk was an emergency. Food escaping the highchair tray was a criminal offence. It seemed to me like she had forgotten what babies were like. It wasn't just my mom, either. Other parents acted the same way. I have witnessed toddlers who get in trouble for dripping ice-cream on their shirt or getting dirt on their shoes. It seemed to me that parents often scolded their children just for being kids.

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