Teen Pregnancies and Life

Teen Pregnancies and the Effects

Teen pregnancy has been considered an ‘issue’ for many years now.  It is known to give struggle to the teenage families on several levels; a couple of them being economic, educational and social struggles.  According to hhs.gov, in the year of 2012, “there were approximately 29.4 births for every 1,000 adolescent females ages 15-19, or 305,420 babies born to females in this age group...”  These numbers are extremely high, but at the same time seemingly lower than that of 2011’s numbers.

            With these statistics being said, an interviewed and majorly effected person inside this teenage scare, was Nate Howell.  In the year of 2010, Nate was expecting a child with his girlfriend Samantha Keith.  Nate was the age of nineteen, as his girlfriend had just turned seventeen.  Before the knowledge that he had a baby on the way, Nate wanted for his future to be in college playing football.  Without a scholarship, and with this child coming – that would not be happening.  This is now a social struggle for him as he must be frowned upon by most family and friends who once associated with him.  He has switched to two jobs, one factory, another at a local pizza place.  Neither of which were involved in his earlier intentions.  He has been actively employed since he was fifteen, to help take care of his family as his mom was diagnosed with cancer.  Even with this experience, and the two jobs he continues to pushing through, the economic struggle is unreal.

The quote that Nate left with, the start of the rest of his life, “I don’t care if I have to work in a factory the rest of my life, as long as my baby will have everything it needs. I’m fine with a second-rate life.”  These very strong words, say so much.  The idea that Nate, as so many other teenagers who are bringing in kids and building families so early, must now downgrade everything he once wanted, all past expectations – it is undesirable.

http://www.nbcnews.com/id/35448556/ns/us_news-the_elkhart_project/t/baby-changes-everything-true-cost-teen-pregnancys-uptick/#.U07ivlea-So

http://www.hhs.gov/ash/oah/adolescent-health-topics/reproductive-health/teen-pregnancy/trends.html

Justin Beiber or Aly Raisman? You choose.

Many of us are aware of the underage drinking problem that goes on in the United States. Many younger children are starting to drink at a young age, and becoming alcoholic before they even reach the legal drinking age of twenty-one. Many underage celebrities have slipped into the media by committing the crime of underage drinking. They get involved with going out with older friends and they think because they are famous celebrities they don’t have to obey the laws, they think they have earned the right. Well, many of them end up going to jail, and getting punished just like anyone else that is their age that committed the same crime.  That means that all of their fans, no matter what age, are watching them, and looking up to them to be their role models. These role models that mess up, are setting an example that teenagers do not need to follow, but it is happening all over the country. That is why we need more role models/ celebrities that influence good behavior and set good examples for our children.

 

Aly Raisman is not one of those celebrities that give into peer pressure and start to drink at a young age. Aly Raisman is a true role model to children all over the country on and off of the gymnastics mat. She encourages teens to stay away from alcohol. Aly is an eighteen year old American artistic gymnast, and was captain of the gold-medal winning US women’s gymnastics team. Aly was also a guest competitor on Dancing with the Stars, letting the whole world see her stunning personality, and healthy body gliding across the dance floor, living the dream that she has created for herself.  Aly told reporters that her advice for teenagers is, “Surround yourself with good people. If your friends are pressuring you to do things you don’t want to do, they aren’t your friends. Encourage others to do what’s best for them. Of course, it’s going to be hard. Middle school’s a tough time.  

 

http://www.teenvogue.com/my-life/2013-04/aly-raisman-alcohol-awareness-month

http://www.seattlestar.net/2014/04/the-top-14-bottled-waters-in-seattle/

Who needs the Cookie Monster anyway?

About thirty years ago, obesity was not a common thing in America, let alone child obesity. American’s led live to keep themselves healthy. Kids were active with walking to and from school, playing at recess and having gym class. Most Americans enjoyed the typical home cooked family dinner, but those are rare and it’s much easier to just go out or order in food. Children typically were only eating one snack a day; nowadays one in five aged children has up to six snacks a day. Portion sizes are also not what they use to be. They are now two to five times bigger than the average size. Lifestyles are very different for the average American. Technology has had a toll but also budget cuts on gym classes and extraciricular activities. Michelle Obama, the first lady, has found that this is a problem and one that she can help fix.

Michelle Obama grew up in the South Side of Chicago. Her parents, Fraser and Marian Robinson, raised her and also had an older brother named Craig. Her household was filled with love, laughter and important life lessons while her mother stayed at home and her father was a pump operator for the water department. She graduated from Chicago public schools and Princeton University. Following graduation she started to work with people to help their communities and neighbors. In 1996, she became Associate Dean of Student Services at the University of Chicago.  With this position she developed the University of Chicago’s first community service program. Once becoming first lady she decided on a new project, obesity in America.

In 2010, first lady, Michelle Obama, started the Let’s Move program. This program uses comprehensive strategies with common sense to put children on a healthier lifestyle path. The main focus of this program is child obesity and reducing it but there are also helpful tips for adults as well. During the launch of this new program President Barack Obama signed a Memorandum creating a task force on child obesity. Let’s Move is all about giving parents what they need to provide healthier food in schools, help kids get fit, and just be healthier. Michelle Obama has had a positive impact on American lives, but she did try to take away a beloved sesame street character names the cookie monster. This did not sit well with the public. Veggie monster didn’t stick for very long. Mrs. Obama is continuing her work on the issues by supporting families, helping women balance careers and fighting child obesity.

http://www.letsmove.gov/about

http://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/first-lady-michelle-obama

Breaking the Color Line of America's Pastime-Jackie Robinson

Major League Baseball has long been considered as America’s preeminent sport out of all the major sports in the country, and this was certainly true in 1947.  Much like America at the time period baseball represented the segregation that existed in the nation’s society by only allowing white players since 1889. On April 15, 1947, after nearly six decades of being segregated and years before Martin Luther King Jr. burst onto the scene advocating for racial equality, Jackie Robinson finally broke baseball’s color line.  

Jack Roosevelt “Jackie” Robinson was born as the youngest of five on January 31, 1919, to a family of sharecroppers in Cairo, Georgia. Given his middle name after former President Theodore Roosevelt only seemed to foreshadow the famous man he would become.  In 1920 his father left the family and his mother moved them to Pasedena, California. His older brothers recognizing his talent in sports pushed him to pursue his interest in them, and in high school he excelled in multiple sports. At Pasedena Junior College on January 25, 1938 he formed a reputation for combativeness in the face of racism after being arrested and later suspended for vocally disputing the detention of a black friend by police. This was just the first incident that would give Jackie a bad reputation for dealing with racial prejudice. After graduating from PJC he went on to UCLA, where he became the first black athlete to win varsity letters in four sports. In 1942 he was drafted into the army and on July 6, 1944, he once again stood up for his race by refusing to sit in the back of the bus. He was charged with multiple offenses, but was later acquitted and honorably discharged that year.

In 1945 Jackie joined the Negro Leagues, where he paid very little, so he decided to try out for Major League teams like the Boston Red Sox and Brooklyn Dodgers. Before signing Jackie on October 23, 1945, Dodgers President and general manager, Branch Rickey, famously questioned Jackie about his prior incidents at PJC and in the military because he was afraid Jackie could not handle the racism he would face in baseball in which Jackie responded, “Are you looking for a Negro who is afraid to fight back?” Rickey responded, “With guts enough to not fight back.” Jackie told him he “would turn the other cheek”, when faced with racial antagonism. This proved he had grown into a man able to deal with racial antagonism. In 1947, at the age of 28, he officially became the first man to break the color line in baseball. He would go on to play 10 successful seasons, in which he would have a decorated career that included a World Series title.

Jackie was later quoted as saying, “A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives.” And what an impact he had. He pioneered the integration of professional athletics in America, and showed that the civil rights movement extended beyond the political atmosphere. In 1997, Major League Baseball recognized his accomplishment by “universally” retiring his number, meaning no player on any team would ever again be allowed to wear the number 42. On April 15, 2004, the MLB also adopted the annual tradition of  “Jackie Robinson Day”, on which every player on every team wears his number on their jersey.   

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jackie_Robinson

http://www.jackierobinson.com/about/bio.html