By Nathiel Tejada
“I don’t even know how to handle this type of thing.”
-
- Beatrice, Alveoli (Baby’s Breath) by Jeana Scotti
As teenagers in high school or as
young adults in college, what are some things we can’t handle? Schoolwork? Our
parents? Love? Isn’t love so beautiful and stressful? We all want to be in love
or feel something close to love. We all want to express our love however we
can.
Handling love as a teenager can
be hard because teens want to experience it in a way in which they may not have
clear knowledge of. In other words, teenagers want to have sex before knowing
well enough what it truly means to take that step. Do they know the
consequences? Are they aware of what to use to avoid the consequences and where
to find it? What if their parents aren’t talking to them about sex, should they
get this information at school?
As of today, out of all my
Facebook friends, at least ten of them who either attended the same middle
school or high school as me are either currently pregnant or already have a
baby. While reading through their happy “I’m pregnant!” statuses and viewing
their photos with their babies, I think of whether they intentionally wanted a
baby or if they were even ready to have one. Either way, it must be difficult
to balance school, the life of a teenager, and a newborn.
What about young adults in
college? They’re also expressing that love however they possibly can. One may
think that by then, they would know the consequences, but many college women
have gotten pregnant. Now, can a young adult handle the stress college brings,
the social life enjoyed on campus, the pursuit of their future goals, and a
newborn?
“Where would I even go to get an
abortion for this?”
-
Beatrice, Alveoli (Baby’s Breath) by Jeana Scotti
If teenage girls or young women
in college know they can’t handle a baby right at this moment, what are they going
to do? Have an abortion, give the baby up for adoption, or struggle raising
their baby? According to the organization Pregnant On Campus Initiative, 44% of
abortions in the United States are obtained by college women, ages ranging from
18 to 24. Anyone can read this and have a different reaction because abortion
is a debatable topic. Everyone holds different political perspectives towards abortion.
Either way, out of all the abortions happening in this country, college
students obtain 44% of these, which is a big statement. Imagine what percentage
would belong to high school students? What can be done to prevent this number
from increasing? Prevent abortions or stop our current behavior with sex?
“Now everyone wants me to kill
it.”
-
Beatrice, Alveoli (Baby’s Breath) by Jeana Scotti
I had a personal experience with
teenage pregnancy. During my junior year of high school, while I was waiting
for the F train in Delancey St after finishing a typical school day, a girl sat
next to me. She tapped me on the shoulder and asked me, “How would you react if
one of your friends got pregnant?”
Being my sarcastic, playful self
I told her that my friends and I used to make fun of each other’s experiences
if one of us ever got pregnant. She began to cry and I thought, “Oh no, what’s
wrong with me? Why did I just say that?” After judging my straightforwardness,
I realized that she was pregnant and when I asked her, “Are you…” she just
nodded her head. Without thinking it twice, I hugged her. She then told me that
she just finished talking with her best friend and she told her to get an
abortion. Her ex-boyfriend, the baby’s father told her the same thing. Her
mother was disappointed on her and told her quote on quote to “kill it.” After
hearing those words, I was struck because of how insensitive some might be,
especially in this situation.
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When she finished telling me what
everyone else thought about her pregnancy, I asked her, “What do you want to
do?” She told me she wanted to keep the baby. She was happy she was pregnant
because she always wanted to be a mother. She was willing to work hard to raise
her baby. I told her that having a baby at her age would bring a lot of
challenges but she wanted to face and overcome those challenges. While I looked
at her in amazement, she asked me, “What should I do?” After thinking, I told
her, “Do what you want. If you truly want this baby and you’re willing to work
hard to give this baby a great life, then forget about everyone else and have
this baby. This is your life, not theirs. Do what makes you happy. If this baby
will make you happy, then forget about what everyone else thinks. This is your
life.”
After I told her that, the F
train came and since I was waiting for my brother, I couldn’t get on that
train. She did and while she was walking towards the train, I said out loud,
“Do what will make you happy!” She looked back, smiled, and entered the train.
At that moment, I realized that some young women want to be a mother and that
teenage pregnancy may not always be a burden.
“How could I- what would I? I
can’t even take care of myself.”
-
Beatrice, Alveoli (Baby’s Breath) by Jeana Scotti
Whether teenage pregnancy is a
burden or not is a debatable topic. What’s important is that many teenagers or
young adults may not be ready to handle a newborn. Many are now learning to
take care of themselves and thinking of their futures, how could they possibly
handle another life? If a teenage girl in high school or a young woman in
college gets pregnant and isn’t ready to have that baby, what should they do? If
young women don’t want to deal with this tricky situation, then as a society we
need to help them. We have to make sure teenagers in high school obtain the
information they deserve. Scaring teenagers to prevent them from having sex by
teaching them about the many sexually transmitted diseases is useful but that
won’t necessarily stop them. Teenagers will continue to have sex no matter
what. What we should do is provide them with the right tools to have safe sex.
Young women in college know about these tools but sometimes they live in the
moment without thinking of the consequences. In the end, women aren’t the only
ones who need to learn about safe sex, men are responsible too.
The world of Entertainment has
considered this controversial topic. MTV’s 16
and Pregnant and Teen Mom are two
current shows that navigate through the life of different teenagers as they
raise their newborn babies. Each story offers a look into the variety of
challenges pregnant teenagers face. The girls in this show are forced to
sacrifice their teenage years to face adulthood. Both of these shows
demonstrate the optimism among these girls and their dedication to make the
lives of their babies greater. These shows are meant to show the reality of
teenage pregnancy, which can teach teenagers watching both shows about the many
challenges experienced when being pregnant before being ready.
As teenagers in high school or as
young adults in college, there are many things we can’t handle such as schoolwork,
our parents, and the best one of all, love. Love is stressful but don’t we all
want to feel it? Don’t we want to express our love however we can? Love has its
consequences though. Love brings life. Love brings life even when we’re not ready.
What do we do if we’re not ready? If a teenage girl in high school or a young
woman in college gets pregnant and isn’t ready to have that baby, what should
they do? Have an abortion, give the baby up for adoption, or have the baby but
struggle to raise it?
ALVEOLI (BABY'S BREATH) in Series D in the Riant Theatre's Strawberry One-Act Festival at the Theatre at St. Clement's, 423 West 46th Street, NYC, on Sunday, August 24th at 2pm. For tickets go to www.therianttheatre.com #StrawberryOneActFestival @RiantTheatre
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