Monday and Tuesday

Take Action - End Abstinence-Only-Until-Marriage Programs

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Monday and Tuesday

by:

abril_flowers

Monday, October 24, 2011 at 11:51:00 AM EDT

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Frida [my daughter] and I

Monday

6:00 a.m. I wake up to do homework (mostly reading; upper level history courses require a lot of reading)
8:00 a.m. I wake up my daughter
8:30 a.m. We eat breakfast
10:00 a.m. I go to the university with Frida doing things (speaking to professors, making reservations, holding meetings) for the two organizations I am leading (Texas Freedom Network and Scorpion Historical Society)
12:00 p.m. I am home eating lunch with Frida
1:00 p.m. Frida is asleep and I am doing homework again
3:00 p.m. Frida wakes up from her “short” nap
4:00 p.m. We go outside to play or take photos with my camera
6:00 p.m. I read my history book aloud to Frida (Information is better retained when I hear myself reading material)
7:00 p.m. We eat dinner!
8:00 p.m. We watch Nick Jr or Yo Gabba Gabba (I have learned to love this show!)
9:30 p.m. Story Time! Frida and I sit on the rocking chair and read four books, two in English and two in Spanish (She loves Whoever You Are/Quienquiera Que Seas)

Awesome book! It teaches children about cultural competency and it is both in English and Spanish.

11:00 p.m. Frida is asleep
11:20-1:00 a.m. I am doing homework
1:15 a.m. I am asleep

Tuesday

5:30 a.m. I awake to do some last minute reading
8:00 a.m. Frida is awake
8:30 a.m. We are eating breakfast
8:40 a.m. I head to school and Frida stays with my mother
9:25 a.m.-4:20 p.m. Foundations of Public Service, Afro Caribbean History, and the French Revolution
4:30 p.m. I return to my baby :)
6:00 p.m. I am doing homework
7:00 p.m. We eat dinner!
8:00 p.m. We color in her big sketch pad
9:30 p.m. Story Time!
11:00 p.m. Frida is asleep
11:20-1:00 a.m. I am doing homework
1:15 a.m. I am asleep

I am a single mother of a soon-to-be two year old. I am a 20-year-old Latina and I am a college student at the University of Texas at Brownsville. I am going to graduate with two degrees, Public Service and History with Teacher Certification. I am also considered to be low-income. My financial situation has never been great but I have been well because of my mother and government assistance. I am so grateful for it.

Social programs get a bad rep because people think that the people enrolled in these programs are living off the government and do not want to work. They do not take people like me into account. Social programs have helped me progress and I am progressing: To make a change for my daughter and for myself. I do have it tough, I barely eat at times and most of the time I am sleep deprived. And oh my, the stress is terrible! But honestly, what has helped me tremendously is the support I receive from my mother. She was there to help me the moment I told her I was pregnant and she continues to help me in so many ways. She believes that just because I have a child it does not mean that I cannot strive for an education.

This helps at times!

When I found out I was pregnant I felt devastated because I believed I was not going to be able to continue with my post secondary education and I would be viewed negatively by my friends and family (in which I actually was). And that is the problem!!! Society views teenage pregnancy as appalling and terrible. I am not saying its good either but that is why we have to implement programs that provide medically accurate information, regarding sex education, that EDUCATE adolescents. I thought it was the end. It’s not the end. Look at everything I have I done! I am proud of myself. I proud to be a strong, determined, and motivated single-mother of the most beautiful girl ever.