Being a young mother

Being a young, single mother hasn’t been easy for me. I was 17 years old when I learned I was pregnant. It felt the world was falling apart around me. I was nowhere ready to have a child. I had a lot of problems I wasn’t ready to deal with. I was in an unhealthy relationship. I had an eating disorder, and I had a problem with drugs. On top of that, I had horrible anxiety and depression.

I wanted to be a good mother to my child. I stopped doing drugs the moment the pregnancy test read positive. I started eating right. It all sounds so easy writing it on paper, but nothing could have prepared me for how hard it was. I had anxiety attacks every day because of withdrawal. On top of that I was trying to get out of an unhealthy relationship. I felt that everything that could have gone wrong, went wrong. I felt the only reason I had for living was for my child. That was a scary feeling.

There were many times I thought about an abortion. I thought I had too many problems, and bringing a child into my life would make it worse.

The father of my child is what scared me the most. I was scared he would take my child away from me, and treat her the way he used to treat me. I was under his control for the longest time. I was scared to leave him, but I had to. That may have been the hardest thing I’ve had to do.

Getting pregnant at 17 really changed my life. But it made me a better person. I don’t even want to think about where I’d be if it weren’t for my daughter. She’s the light of my life. I’m thankful for everything we’ve been through together, and I’m looking forward to watching her grow.