Every day is a juggling act for me. It’s quite a challenge being a single mom while in college.
Having a child requires a lot of attention, and so does being a college student. There is added pressure, stress and fatigue while balancing these two factors in my life.
It all starts in the morning. Not only do I have to get dressed, but I have to get my baby dressed as well. Being late is not an option. If I start my mornings late no childcare for the day and no childcare means I can’t attend class.
In addition, I have to find time to study. Usually, it’s after bedtime when the house is quiet.
Having a social life is almost impossible. The endless homework assignments and stockpiles of information leave me no room to socialize with family or friends.
The workload doesn’t stop. I also have to maintain my grades while keeping my home in order by cooking, cleaning and doing laundry.
All this led me to question my future. How was I going to keep managing school as a single mom with little to no support?
A common myth when having a baby in college is that you will not return back or eventually will drop out.
It all started back in 2019 during spring break. I just finished my mid-terms and was super excited to finally enjoy my time away from campus.
My friends and I planned to go to Miami Beach to enjoy the sun and sand, but I began to get nauseas and started to feel aches and pain in the lower part of my stomach.
A few days went by and things begin to get worse. I started to have morning sickness, vomiting out thick yellow fluids.
I Google searched what it might mean if your vomit was thick and yellow and the only thing that popped up in the search engine was stomach acid, which is considered normal.
As time went on, the discomfort was at an all-time high, so I decided to go to my local Walgreens to get a pregnancy test.
Later that evening, I took the test and learned I was indeed pregnant. The next morning, I went to my doctor and they verified that I was two months. My due date was late October.
I was in disbelief. My responsibility was now to take care of the little human growing inside of me. Looking back, I can finally answer my question.
Don’t give up. If I would’ve given up, I wouldn’t have known my true strengths.
I motivate single moms to push themselves to their fullest potential.