Everyone goes down their own road in life, and along the way there are bumps that teach life lessons. There are also unexpected events that many people will see negative but going through this journey will make a person stronger and can change their life for the better. During high school young people are pushed into growing on their own and becoming independent while also trying to figure out who they are and who they are going to be. The last two years of high school, students need to start picking up the pieces and putting together the puzzle of their life, imagine being halfway into getting your pieces together and finding out it’s not only your future that’s at stake?

Isla Martinez was 16 years old and finishing her junior year when she found out she was pregnant. Martinez was at first afraid to tell her mom about her suspicion of being pregnant so she told her best friend. After not getting her period she and her mom became concerned and went to the hospital to see what was happening. There is when the doctor confirmed Martinez was pregnant.

“At first all my thoughts were so negative, I thought that everything was going to be difficult but then they started changing over time and I began to think that things happened for a reason,” Martinez said.

The rest of her pregnancy was not easy and like any other teen mom, she got many rude remarks and many judgments. besides having the responsibilities of a senior in high school she now had additional family responsibilities. Martinez said in the beginning many of the comments she would get would bring her down and it was really hard for her and her family, but then the people that helped her the most was her mom and sisters. Slowly towards the end she began to realize her baby is more important than the opinions of other people.

“My mom and my two sisters would take me to doctors appointments and would give me advice, they were at the hospital when I was about to have my baby girl. They never left the hospital, they were there with me the entire three days,” Martinez said.

Who said being a teen mom was such a negative thing? To Martinez, it was the best thing that ever happened to her. Martinez said having her baby girl changed her view on the world and being a mom is not just about what others say.

“I started thinking in a more mature way, since it was not only me anymore,” Martinez said.

At age 17, Martinez goes to school and works hard to provide for her baby girl and is doing an amazing job of raising her daughter. Even though Martinez said being a young mom is not always easy since she has many responsibilities she embraces every part of being a mom even if it means having more responsibilities than other teens.

“It feels great knowing that I have a reason why to come to school, go to work and getting home. It’s priceless getting home and seeing my little daughters face,” Martinez said.

Martinez is a perfect example on how age doesn’t define what a good mother should be.

“For teen moms out there, you really shouldn’t care about what others have to say about teen mothers. They don’t know all the sacrifices that we have to go through,” Martinez said.