You’re A Teen Mom?!
Imagine that you have a growing anxiety and panic over finding out the results of a test that could alter the course of your entire life… a pregnancy test! I’ve watched several episodes of Teen Mom. I’ve tried to understand the logic and reasoning behind why the teen moms made their decisions and feel the way that they do by watching several episodes of teen mom shows documenting “real life experiences.” It seems like more stress sets in and things do not turn out the way that the teen moms had wanted them to because of having to deal with unexpected obstacles along the way. It’s hard to really get an accurate depiction of what an average teen mom’s life is by watching these shows because these women get paid for making these shows.
Sexual experiences can be enjoyable, but they can also come with consequences that you have to deal with if you are not careful, such as pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases. If you’re young, you may feel embarrassed or discouraged if you find out that you have a sexually transmitted disease. If you’re young and have found out that you are pregnant, you may be frozen in fear on how to respond as well as feel a huge weight on your shoulders that can’t be removed.
If you’re young and have just found out that you are pregnant, there are decisions to be made. You may not want to face the truth or deal with it, but you can’t avoid it. The emotions surrounding this situation may be overwhelming and your hormones may feel out of control. You may feel like your life has ended and that you made a huge mistake.
The Young Mom’s Club website gives us some pregnancy statistics in an article called, “10 Teen Pregnancy Statistics That Will Shock You” by Kim Negri. There are two statistics in particular that were very shocking to me. 80% of teen fathers don’t end up marrying the mother of their children! Teen pregnancy in the U.S. is nearly 11 times higher than other countries in the world!
If you are a teenager and you are not pregnant, you should be celebrating that! Explore and enjoy yourself so that you can build up your wholeness. Have a variety of experiences as well as explore your education and your options to further the quality of your life. If you are a teenager and you are pregnant, you need to look at your options. You may want to become a parent, choose adoption or choose abortion. The American Pregnancy Association website details these options with questions regarding making the best decision for you.
If you are a teenager and have found out that you are pregnant, you may feel stuck and don’t know what to do. Shock, fear and embarrassment may prevent you from making a clear decision. Your hormones may play a part in how you are handling your emotional state. It feels dreadful to have to make such an important decision so soon in your life.
Cycles tend to repeat themselves. The U.S. has an issue with having one of the highest teen pregnancy rates in the world even with the options available to it. We already have teen moms raising kids here in the U.S. and that will impact the development of the kids and their range of experiences and understanding with love and sex.
I’m a firm believer that sex and love are different. Sex is a component of love, but it is not love. Love is an energy that accepts who you are and the decisions that you want to make. Love does not make you do something that you do not want to do. Setting boundaries and making the choices that are best for you is important to feeling whole within yourself. If we practiced this more, we would be able to set the course of all of our lives in a better and more inspiring direction.
