Twenty Four years ago today I had a child. It was not in my plans to be a teen mom at 15 years old. One week before my 16th birthday, bringing a child into this world was something I never thought I would be doing but it happened. What a sweet sixteen present, huh?!! I was extremely scared, but honestly thinking back, I was in a foggy state of mind. You see, I wasn’t quite clear about my life, and where it was headed. I of course had heard the stories about how young girls who had kids had to drop out of school to take care of their kid. Although school for me was not a fun experience nor did I even really know what I wanted to do with my life, I was sure of one thing. I wasn’t going to be like the normal teenage mom. I was going to do something that was going to make a difference in my life. Not even was it about doing it for my child, it was about proving to myself that I wasn’t going to just be a statistic.
Listen, I’m not going to lie to you, I wasn’t quite clear even after ten years of being a teen mom that I was sure that I wanted to be X, Y or Z. I just believed that there was a bigger purpose for my life and that I had to see it through. I’m so thankful I went with those thoughts and saw them through. Today, as I write this I am a beauty business entrepreneur. I have established myself in the beauty industry as a success who did not start with much, but developed into having so much more. I am not done yet, and there is so much more to behold. But you see, I am grateful that I did this; not with the help of having a reality show backing like the teen moms of today’s MTV or other networks that create shows about teenage mothers and their experiences. I didn’t do it with the help of a rich family. I didn’t even do it with the belief and encouragement from others that I could accomplish something more. I did it because I didn’t give up and I kept my faith in God, even when I was pretty much a non-believer in a greater higher power back in those days. I just wanted more, and I sought that. I got the affirmations I needed through scriptures I found, continued to speak them over my life, and prayed for better and watched my prayers come to reality. I honestly was having God prove himself to me! I was like, okay if you’re real prove it; let me see this happen in my life! It was daring, but nonetheless I went there.
So here’s my thoughts on being a teen mom, looking back 24 years ago: Do I condone teenage pregnancy? Absolutely not. Do I regret having a child early? At this point, I do not. Would I do it again? Probably not, and with that I mean I probably would not have kids, and I chose to not have anymore. That doesn’t mean I don’t love the child that I did have, but I do think the selfish thing is when people have a lot of kids they cannot take care of and expect others and society to help to raise it and pay for it. I didn’t do that. I worked in high school from the moment I ws able to get a job and have worked hard ever since. I’ve worked full time, going to school full time for many years and I did it without complaining. When I look back on it now, I say that there has to be a God because he helped me get through all of those many years and it was not easy. Honestly, I never was one of those girls that said I wanted to have 3.5 kids, a husband and a house with a white picket fence. I didn’t really have a desire to even be a mother, but God allowed me to see it through. I’m also not one of those people that says God doesn’t make any mistakes. Listen to me; God didn’t have sex and create this child, I did (with the help of my baby daddy and now husband of almost 20 years LOL). But what he did do was through my slip ups and mistakes allow all these things to eventually work out for my good.
Wishing You a Successful Beauty-Filled Journey,
Elizabeth Jennings💕
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