“Without education you won’t be recognized” were the words of wisdom my sister told me, after being pregnant and married at a young age of fifteen. Since she
was an adolescent she thought that the words her husband said about life were sincere.
During her pregnancy she went through a lot of trouble, as well as when she gave birth. While she was pregnant she had to get her GED to at least get a better paying job. Since her husband was an immigrant in this country it was hard for him to get a job. They were both young, so they didn’t know what to expect from life. They both had to learn to take responsibilities and to deal with money. Maria never asked my parents help other then permission to remain living at home.

I remember my sister waking up early to go to school. Since we lived in a poverty stricken place she had to walk a couple of blocks to catch the metro. It was difficult for her because her belly grew more and heavier everyday. Her life became a daily routine for nine months. School, work, home for cooking and clean- up, and dealing with her husbands complaints. After her child’s birth it was even more difficult for her. She now had to deal with her own child. She thought it would be easy because she used to take care of us, but it wasn’t. This time she couldn’t turn to mom. The baby would cry a lot and her husband would howl at her because he couldn’t sleep. In the mornings she had to make lunch for her husband and deal with a crying baby. After the baby was born they found out how difficult it was to have a baby. They now had to feed three mouths not just two. My sister found a job after the baby turned 2 months. My grandma baby-sat the baby morning to night. My sister would come home tired, but knew she had a baby to come home to and not only that but a very hungry and cranky husband. Maria wanted to go back to school but it was impossible because she now had to think for her baby. She gave up her teenager years. That meant friends sleepovers, parties, school dances, prom, and everything else teenagers do to have fun. She always wanted to have a career in the medical field. She had to discard her dreams because she now had a child to take care of. Her only goal then was to give her child everything she couldn’t have when she was young. Even that was unreachable because she had closed too many doors. Maria’s image altered a lot. She looked stressed, tired, exhausted, and had no time to for herself.
She told me later on “Life isn’t always like the painted portrait.” I comprehended her when I saw the happy picture of her and her husband; because that was the only time I saw them smile. Maria struggled like an adult during her teenage years, but never gave up. She let the others comments make her stronger and never was ashamed to say “this is my daughter.”

She once told me “without education you wont be recognized,” and that is absolutely right. If you don’t have an education, your chances of experience success in life diminish. Before I made wrong choices, she told me to “Look at what I went through”. Maria’s life was like a tangled slinky, full of pain, problems, and prayers. She went through pain; she went through nights without rest. She went through frustration and stress. But above it all she went through it with out giving up. I admire her tenacity.