Andi's Story
My name is Andi, and when I was 15, I started dating a guy that I had known for a few years (we went to church together). I found out I was pregnant after 6 mos of dating him...I was still 15. I was an honor-roll student, in just about every kind of club you could imagine. I was a "goody" type girl. I had never even been kissed before I started dating my boyfriend. I had just been accepted to our state's school of math and science (A dormatory school for juniors and seniors who excel in math and science). I wanted to go to this school more than anything else in the world. I had gone through countless tests and interviews with this school to get in. I had finally made it! And then I found out I was pregnant. We told both sets of parents...we had decided to keep the baby. I went through some depression, but things got better...as the birth of my baby approached, my family got more and more excited. I homeschooled myself my junior year (both my parents worked). Well, in February of 99, at the age of 16, I gave birth to a beautiful, precious little girl. I was in the middle of my junior year, still homeschooling, so I got to stay home with her constantly for her first 6 mos. My boyfriend and I got married 2 mos after the birth of our daughter...we lived in the upstairs half of his parents house and paid them rent. We bought land and started building a house that year, 2 hours away, near some of his family. My husband and his father started working up a bussiness to put there as well. Every weekend we'd come down to work on the house...and then on the bussiness. It was a pretty rough year. I started my senior year back at my old school and also took a few college classes. My daughter was watched by a relative during the day. I couldn't bear to study in the evening when I'd been away from my daughter all day. So I'd play with her and put her down when it was her bedtime....there were many nights when I'd work all night (as soon as my daughter and husband were asleep), have my paper typed by breakfast, and then I'd be off to school. That's the way it was my senior year. I ended up 3rd in my class, and received a few scholarships.
Well, here I am now. 4 years after it all began. My husband and I just celebrated our 3rd anniversary (we've never been so much in love, our love just seems to grow every day with time and experience), and our daughter turned 3 in February. She is so sweet and so smart. I'm very proud of her...she IS my pride and joy. Somehow we're all doing just fine. I know that not everyone will be as blessed as this. I never thought I would have any of this, but back when I was 15, God decided I needed a precious gift and I chose to let him do his will. HE has taken care of us ever since. To me, my life is a miracle, because I have no idea how we've survived. It's something that I will never understand, but I trust that HE will continue to take care of us. And honestly, I'm a much better person now that all of this has happened. I'm not saying that raising a child at a young age is easy, it's not. And I'm not saying it's always possible...I'm just saying that it has happened before, and CAN happen. And I am truly thankful for the difficult hand of cards that I've been delt....it was a blessing.
Andie |
