"To say I was terrified is an understatement."

22 years ago I found out I was pregnant at the young age of 17. To say I was terrified is an understatement. I knew my life was about to change in ways I couldn’t even fathom. Especially knowing that I was going to have to do it alone.

I had people constantly in my ear telling me I was stupid for choosing to continue my pregnancy. I was too young they said. I was going to ruin my life they said. I had my whole life ahead of they said. I had people judging me left and right. Including friends and family. I was considered the black sheep of the family for getting pregnant so young. I could have easily not told a soul and gone and gotten an abortion. All my problems would have been fixed had I did, and no one would have known. I wouldn’t have had to deal with the nasty looks, being shamed, looked down on, ridiculed, judged, pitied etc. Especially from the people who claimed to love me the most.

But in the end, I didn’t care about all of that. I only cared about the little baby that was growing inside of me. My heart KNEW that I needed that baby and that I was hell-bent on keeping her regardless of what that entailed. I may have accidentally gotten pregnant, but she was no mistake. God doesn’t make mistakes. He brought her into my life when I needed her the most. She saved me in more ways than I can count. She was the first person to really show me what true love was. I never knew a love like that existed prior to having her.

It wasn’t always easy being an extremely young single mom, but I did it. We did it. Even through the hardest and darkest times, there was never a time when I regretted my decision. As much as I raised her, she helped raise me too. It may not have been ideal for me to get pregnant at such a young age, but I wouldn’t trade it for the world. She was and still is one of the biggest blessings I have ever received.

I’m proud of myself for choosing the harder path and choosing life regardless of what that looked like. -@rjn1219 via Instagram