‘You have to surround yourself with people who love and support you. I
was blessed to have people around me; unfortunately these people are not
family members. My mother didn’t take it lightly with me. I wouldn’t
have handled it the way she did because I belong to a different
generation. I was nurtured by people I met and they constantly reminded
me that my life didn’t end with that bad situation.”
To overcome the stigma of early teenage pregnancy, she had to do
certain things. While admitting that the situation affected her hugely,
she said that she chose her friends very carefully; friends who were
young ladies who had done well and had vision for themselves. “I felt I
still remained who I was.
I came from a very good home, not by
wealth but value. Education was not negotiable in my family. I didn’t
want that one mistake to define who I was. But it was quite difficult
for me because it was the talk of the town for quite a number of years,”
she said.
She urged young girls who have experienced similar
situations to remember to keep their dreams alive and go back to school
after having their babies. For her, it is not about how many mistakes
you make or times you fell; it is about how many times you get up.
