My Anecdote

I have a friend that got pregnant when she was in her first year of college and I wouldn't say it ruined her life, but it definitely made her life more challenging. She has to put off going to school and bettering her life for her child because its hard for her to find a job that pays well enough to help her to buy things she needs for her son and to pay for daycare. I feel bad for her because her parents are always on her about getting a good job and to try to move out. I understand they want her to be successful, but at the same time that would be very challenging and stressful enough just raising a child when you're still a child yourself. Especially when you still want to go out and hangout with friends and party on the weekends. Be sure if you are sexually active you are being smart about the situation and never be scared to talk to a friend or an adult about getting on birth control. Think to yourself, would it be more embarrassing asking your parents for birth control or telling them you're pregnant and having people judge you. I see it as, its more "normal" to ask for birth control than to be pregnant at a young age. 

Teen Pregnancy Facts

Teen pregnancy can be one of the most challenging experiences in someone’s life. Especially if the father of your child, and your boyfriend, chooses to leave you because he doesn't want to take care of his responsibilities. Its crazy how the statistics show that men are more likely to leave you once you've had a child. You also need want to take into consideration the amount of money you're going to be spending on your new child, while putting your very own life on hold for someone else's. So, if you don't expect to become pregnant because you're focusing on better your own life and waiting until you are mentally, physically and financially stable you might want to talk to your doctor about contraceptives. Always be safe when having sex with someone because you never know if they have STD's or STI'S. People ages 15-24 years old account for nearly half of new cases for STI's each year. So make sure your always use a condom, not just because you don't want to get pregnant, but also because you don't want to get any STD's or STI's.