Vanessa Avina
Vanessa AvinaTeen Pregnancy Experience1-1-1-1
Quitting School not an OptionTeens having Babies YoungManaging Motherhood with School
A Teenage Girl at Canoga Park High School learns that she is pregnant in the Winter of 1992. Another Young Girl has gotten herself in a situation that will forever change her life and impact others as well. Decisons have to be made about is she going to keep the baby, how will the father of the baby handle the news and how will her parents react to such news as their Teenage Daughter who is only 16 years old is pregnant. Teens having children are in for eye opening experiences, if they choose to keep the baby, and it starts when they find out they are pregnant to the day the child turns 18 years old. The experience of watching someone so young make a decison that will forever change their life because nothing will ever be the same after that. The strain of changing their lifestyle to their personal relationships that will go through hard times as they now have to care for a person who needs them for food, shelter and clothing. They have to get up for midnight feedings, going to the doctor and other important things. I know all the hardships that a teenager goes through when they have a baby at such a young as and all the things they have to give up. The 16 years old Teenage Girl who got pregnant was my Sister Tanya Avina. She made a choice that forever changed her life and impacted others around her. My sister Tanya Avina was a good student in school. She got A’s and B’s when she brought home her report to our parents. She was involved in many hobbies at school such as Sewing, Gardening and Arts and Crafts. Tanya Avina was a popular student, loved to go out on the weekend with friends and our mom could count on her to make the right choices when she did things. This all changed when she met a guy that would change her life. In 1991, my sister met a guy named Gordon Poole, who was a Junior at Taft High School, and my was also a Junior. She was only 15 years old when they met and started dating. Gordon Poole was a popular guy on campus. He was on the Baseball Team, popular and a decent student plus a nice person who would help you if in trouble. My sister dated him one year when she found out she was pregnant with my. When she found out she was pregnant, She was scared, nervous and frighten and also about how she was going to tell our parents and how they would take this news. Our parents, Pam and David Avina, raised us to always know that we could tell them anything good or bad but our father’s reaction is what she worried about and not our mothers. Our father is a Religious and he believed that a child out of wedlock was not acceptable. My sister Tanya told our mother while they were having a conversation making the beds up one morning but she didn’t have to say a word because our mom already knew that she was pregnant. Our mother was a Nurse for more than 35 years and can tell if a person is pregnant. When my father found out, he was very disappointed in my sister for getting pregnant at such a young age. He became distant towards her for a while but them he excepted the fact the she was going to have a baby. I was kept in the dark about the pregnancy for some reason but I don’t know why. It could have been that I was so young that I would not understand what this ment but I did understand. It was a shock to me when I found out that she was pregnant because she was so young having a baby. I always have known that my sister made good choices in life and keeping the baby was one of them. Tanya knew that she was determined to finish High School and not drop out. She left High School when she entered her Second Trimester and our mother entered her in a Pregnancy School that had all pregnant students. She completed all of her classes she needed for her Junior year of High School. My sister was able to take additional classes that were counted towards extra credit. Even though she was at another school, I saw how hard she worked to keep up with her homework even though there were some days when she didn’t feel well or just wanted to lay down and take a nap for a few hours but no, she wanted to finish her school work. While at this pregnancy school, she maintained a 3.0 to 3.5 GPA and that made our parents happy that she was getting good grades and maintaining them. The nine monthes of being pregnant was finally over. I don’t have to watch her bring things up in the morning, hear her complain that she hates being pregnant anymore and just seeing her body go through a major change in the process. My sister gave birth to a baby boy, Kameron Lane Poole, June 22, 1993 after more than 10 hours of labor. I was not at the hospital when he was born but I remember when I got the call from my mom that my sister had the baby. I was at home with my Grandma Bonnie and I was so excited about becoming an Aunt that I would answer the phone each time that it rang and I would ask “Is it here?” before even saying hello. When I saw him for the first time in the hospital, He was so beautiful and my sister was still in shock she gave birth to a child. Gondon Poole, Boyfriend and the Father, stayed by her side all through the pregnancy and was there for the birth of their child. The hard part now is taking the child home and raising it. When my sister brought the baby home, she decided to live at home until she graduated High School.My sister Tanya was a good mother for a person her age, now 17 years old, with a baby. She didn’t go out like she use too, always got what the baby needed and never left him unless it was for school. My sister Tanya went back to Canoga Park High School for her Senior year. She left the baby with our mom and grandma to watch when she went to school. These two women are people who would do anything for you. I saw them give this baby what ever it needed such as diapers,clothes, food, bottles and other things that a child would need. My dad did come around finally and he loves this child. My mom spoiled this child so much because it is her first GrandChild. She is one of the person who helped my sister a lot with the child. I saw my mom show my sister how to feed the child, put the baby to sleep and made sure it went to the Doctor for check ups. My sister Tanya graduated from Canoga Park High School in 1994 when Kameron was one years old. After graduating High School, my sister got a job as a Switchboard Operator, moved out and got an appartment with her boyfriend Gordon. She knew that it was time to start making a life and support her family and that it was time to stop asking mom and dad for money. After working as a Switchboard Operator, she worked her way up as a full time employee and that inspired my sister to go in a new direction in her career. My sister Tanya Avina decided to become a Social Worker. She took claases to help pursure this dream. She got her certificate that she needed and worked as a Social Worker for the next 10 years. I saw my sister in the good and bad times during the pregnancy. I didn’t agree with her having a baby at such a young age but I’m glad she kept the baby. She is a great mother to Kameron and loves him very much. She and Gordon raised him the best way they know how and part of that is thanks to our family coming together. We all pulled through to help them from babysitting to watching Kameron when they went out. I don’t think my sister could have done this without the support of our family. My sister is now happily married to Gordon Poole after spending 14 years together before getting married. They now have another child, a son named Tyler James Poole. The message of this story and if someone is in this situation is that you can still finish school and make something of your life even though you have a baby. The strength of your family would also help in this situation because without my family’s support for my sister, Her life might be different. Finally, They are good men out there who will take responsibility fo
r their child. -30-
