I was seventeen, pregnant and scared there was no help that was going to come from the father. And I still had to graduate high school. My mother and father had lost all hope in me in graduating or even being a mother. That year I found my strength through my child.
After 15 hours of labor she was here and I was determined to show her, even in her birth, that I am worthy of being her mother even at 17. So I had to build my respect for myself to give enough love to my daughter.
I worked hard to get all my credits and just to make her proud of me. As I was walking to a class seminar, my principal stopped me to explain that I had gotten the scholarship I had asked for. I was to pack up all my belongings because today would be my last day as I had earned all my credits early.
The day of the graduation I asked my sister to please sit my daughter up front to watch me. As I walked past her to get my high school diploma, she was there smiling at me. Now when she looks at the pictures today, I feel proud to explain why: why she is and will always be my determination.
