In an area of the Northwest side of Chicago, Illinois is a popular neighborhood for drugs and crime, but the women of the community have to deal with another factor – teenage pregnancy. Reality television shows today makes the process look so simple compared to what women really experience and witness while getting pregnant at such a young age. In this city, a girl getting pregnant isn’t such a big deal because it typically happens. The neighborhood high school has a designated office for teen moms to help guide an expected mother during her pregnancy in school as well as help her return to school after her delivery. It may be impressive, but is it really? As soon as a young lady gets pregnant she may hear discouraging things such as: “go apply for Public Aid, get on WIC, or who is your baby daddy,” rather than “what are you going to do with a child?” There are more important questions in life that should be asked but don’t seem important to many.
The predetermined future for many young women is pregnancy and food stamps. Many don’t realize that instead of living off of the government, they could be working for the government. If you’ve never been in their shoes, you have no right to put anyone down just because many survive off of food stamps and government assistance. There is more to life to live for than just sitting around collecting a check and visiting the welfare office fighting with your case manager.
I am part of such a world that taught me to be tough and fight and to never put my guard down because you never know what is going to hit you. Just because people think a certain way, doesn’t mean what says, goes. No matter the circumstance, you can always finish high school and further your education into college. College doesn’t have to be an Ivy league school, but you should always take advantage of all the available resources. Study as much as you can, picture your life better than you had before.
I’m a Hispanic woman from Illinois. I have no kids and I graduated from high school, and it’s a great accomplishment. I took it another step further and finished graduate school to accomplish even more of my dreams. My struggles of life included going to school, working a full-time job, and keeping a roof over your head, but those are struggles that I am truly proud of. I I have learned that the fight you have within yourself will determine how much strength you have to knock every obstacle out of your way to reach your ultimate goal. Never let anyone hold you back from what you really desire and never let anyone tell you that you can’t do. We are all created equal and are given equal opportunity no matter where we are.
Words By: Janell Borrero / Photography By: Steve Gelberg
