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.
Danielle,
ReplyDeleteYour biography presents us with an engaging story about a young man who finds that his opportunities constricted in ways he did not expect. Your choice of representative is perhaps unexpected, however, because you selected a man instead of the more typical association between women's struggles and teenage pregnancy. I like that you present us with the social issue first, then move to your chosen individual as a way of demonstrating the struggles and stigma that you have just described.
If your group decides to consider this issue or Nate Howell, you'll want to parse out more clearly why teenage pregnancy is a social issue. Some of the connected issues should help, such as education, socio-economic class, resources for women, access to affordable childcare, health, and birth control.