Senior Anna Balcarcel finishes her English homework while her daughter Aliciana Balcarcel-Ortega plays with her toys.

MTV’s Teen Mom portrays the daily life of teenage girls Farrah, Maci, Amber and Catelynn who all have something in common—they are teenage moms who have a child. Many students enjoy watching the show, and believe it is more than just for entertainment.
“The point of the show is to let teens know how hard it is to raise a child [while you are teenager],” said senior Charlie Miller.
But there are other students who think the show just exaggerates all the drama they go through more than really trying to put a message out there.
“[The show] does show the hardships, but it portrays more mom and dad drama than anything,” said senior Robbie Gonzales.
Senior Anna Balcarcel says her life as a teen mom is nothing like the teen mothers on the show. Balcarcel believes everyone has a different story, but said that Teen Mom doesn’t show all of the stresses.
“Teen Mom doesn’t show how hard it is [to raise a child],” said Balcarcel.
Balcarcel was 16 when she found out that she was pregnant. She is now 18 and the mother of a 1-year-old daughter named Aliciana Balcarcel-Ortega.
“Taking care of another life is so much responsibility [because] you don’t come first anymore,” said Balcarcel. “You can also say goodbye to being a teenager.”
According to a teen information site stayteen.org,  over three-quarters of a million girls under the age of 20 get pregnant each year, and almost 100 teen girls get pregnant each hour. According to the site, teenage pregnancy is the leading reasons teen girls drop out of school. The website also states that less than half of teen mothers never graduate from high school and only about 2 percent of them earn a college degree.
Balcarcel is staying in school so she can walk with her class and get her high school diploma. She said that a diploma will help her find a good paying job so she can provide for herself and her daughter. Staying in school has not been easy, though.
The day in the life of a teenage mother is not like a day of a regular teen at all. Balcarcel starts her day at 6:30 am and gets her things ready for school. Her routine revolves around her baby. She wakes up the baby around 7 a.m. and gets Aliciana dressed and fed, prepares her diaper bag and breakfast and waits for her to get picked up by the child’s grandmother. Then she goes to school.
After school she does her homework until 4 p.m. and then picks up Aliciana and spends the afternoon and evening getting the child dinner, feeding her, bathing her, and putting her to bed. After the baby falls asleep, she finishes up her homework, showers and heads off to bed.
Most teenaged girls have time to hang out after school with friends, join clubs or sports teams, do homework or just enjoy being couch potatoes. But for Barcarcel, life is different.
“Having a child does limit the things I am able to do, like going out or staying up all night,” said Balcarcel. “Having a child is very exhausting.”
Even though Balcarcel said she does not regret having her child but admits her circumstances are difficult.
“It may look easy with all the [media] and TV shows, but don’t let it fool you,” said Balcarcel. “Be safe, make the right choice.”

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.