Today there are many cautionary shows for teenagers about early
pregnancies/ I like the shows. They are realistic about the hardships, and
things they must give up to be teen moms. It shows what 16 or 17 year old boys
really want, trucks, new tires, video games, and to hang out with their
friends. The teen's parents are usually supportive, but the teen parents are
emotionally and financially not ready. They do not they continue their
education, at least not now.
All this reality programming was not around when I was a teen. I attended
a large High School. Regardless the size everyone knew who the popular students
were. I don't know how I came to meet Ronnie but our last names began with the
same letter, which means we must have sat near each other in class. She was
smart, attractive, and a baton twirler. This meant she had the right friends.
She was all the things I wished to be.
Ronnie also had a boyfriend. I always thought he acted like an idiot. He
was a year or two older, tall blond, but silly and loud. She was always
smacking him, and telling him to stop doing foolish things. I thought she
deserved better. She clearly adored him.
At the end of High School I heard she was pregnant. Her mother told my
mother they had been secretly married and now all the news was out. This did
not surprise me really, I thought Ronnie was a very moral girl. Her mother was
showing the marriage certificate around to save her daughter's honor. I went
to college, and my own dating life began in earnest. Ronnie, husband and child
moved into my apartment building. We would pass in the elevator, or I would see
her pushing the baby on a swing. I always said hi, but deadlines, classes,
dates prevented me from sitting down and visiting.
One day we had a chance to talk. She said she sees the life I have and
wished she would have waited to marry and have a child. She wished she had my
life. Hello 1972. Back to the future...
All so true, although the girl I knew who dropped out of HS to have her baby secretly, leaving honors classes and acceptance to an Ivy League school behind, did not reveal her story until many years later.
ReplyDeleteThe current television shows do shine light on reality on what was once a clandestine topic, BUT young people do not necessarily think as we do and "reality shows" are edited and scripted to fit what the director, producer, sponsors, and fans want.
The true reality is more of what Kate Goslin shared about the choices that she had made to make her kids reality TV fodder: they got more money, free stuff, access to events, opportunities, and attention through the TV show than they could ever have gained in their lives without the show.
Look at the Jersey Shore cast. They have full bank accounts, book options, clothing, jewelry, etc. for portraying loud-mouthed, badly behaved, brats. Most of them seem to have "changed" some or all of their evil ways, but their paths are more like pathways for a very rich and very early retirement.
Their history only encourages young folks to think that it is more financially rewarding to be bad. After all, one can always "change" and then be declared "reformed" or a hero...for finally acting as they should have acted all along. Sadly, I fear that the teen moms are taking the same options: fame, fortune, and opportunities to reward bad behavior and foolish choices. Does this mean that teen moms will ask to speak to a lawyer and an agent before informing their parents about their pregnancy? B.