Have you ever witnessed a situation or heard of a situation and thought, "that would never happen to me!" Me too. High school pregnancies. I saw it, I heard about it, and I simply ignored it. I figured, "that would never happen to me." That was of course until it did happen to me. I was seventeen and in my final year of high school. SENIOR YEAR. It was only September, so it only just began when I learned I was pregnant. I went into "fight or flight" mode, per say. I certainly knew I could NOT let my parents find out this life changing piece of information. Surely they were going to kill me if they found out, or even worse, I'd be a disappointment to my entire family. I come to terms quickly that this was not something that could be hidden long. I scheduled myself an appointment to find out for sure that I was pregnant before ultimately disappointing my parents. Lucky for me, I didn't have to be the one to share the news with my parents because I was technically a minor child. The doctors office shared it for me when they called my mom to confirm my appointment!! My parents never attended college, nor did they have the opportunity. It was extremely important to them I go to college. I made the decision I had disappointed my parents enough just being a pregnant teenager, I had to make sure I could support and raise this child I was carrying. I graduated high school on June 1st, 2014. My first born son, Connor, was born June 8th, 2014, exactly one week later. I began college on time as I would have had I not had a child, but instead of a 4 year university I began college at a 2 year technical college offering an associate degree nursing program. While raising my son I managed to make the presidents list, become a member of Phi Theta Kappa Honors Society, get accepted into the nursing program by means of merit acceptance bypassing the waitlist, and finally began my core nursing courses. In 2018, I graduated with my Diploma in Practical Nursing and passed the NCLEX-PN state boards on my first attempt. I provide for not one, but two children. Both boys. During my final semester needed to obtain my associate degree in nursing, my youngest son (4), broke his femur. He was placed in a spica cast (a hard cast wrapping around the waist and down the entire leg) for 8 weeks, more than half of my final semester. I was unable to keep him in childcare and my family helped to the best of their ability but the time it took to care for my son took away from my time to study. I was unsuccessful. Nevertheless, I will finish this degree and the next one, and the one after that. I decide my own success, no one else.