said that I would not become a teen mother. I know the effects that teen pregnancy has. I know that having a child before you finish high school can delay or ruin your chance of graduating. I know that it is hard (most for girls) to bring up a child without being married and without a good job. In this essay I will try to explain why I feel that teen parenthood is not for me.

The first and foremost reason why I don't want to become a teen mother is because I want to graduate from not only High School but also College, and Law School. I want my name to carry a strong title and I want to accomplish great things in my life. I think that having a child before I am absolutely ready will just set me back from reaching my high goals.

Secondly, I have been brought up in a Christian home and I know why teen parenthood is not beneficial nor is it moral. I know that God did not plan us to have children in our teen years nor to have children before we are married.

My parents have taught me that children are not toys. You can't play with them for a while then when they get older just put them away. It doesn't work like that.

Thirdly, I want to live my life to the fullest. I don't want a child to hold me back from the many things I could do. Such as dating. If I had a child I would not be able to date that much because I would have to take care of him/her. Since I have a child guys might not want to get "involved'' with me.

I would not be able to attend parties either. Basically having a child would cut back on my social life.

Also, having a child would cut back on my studying. Having a child could put you back a few months maybe even a year. You probably would have to stop school and take a correspondence course. Here is a typical situation. It is late one Wednesday night and you're trying to cram for a test you should have been studying for all week. But since the baby cried for a bottle. Then cried for the diaper to be changed, and then just cried for no reason at all you couldn't study all the other nights. On that night you are hoping she would sleep. But around 11.30 pm while you are really getting into your chapter, she awakes. She doesn't fall back asleep until 1:00. By then your tired and you eventually fall asleep also. Having a child would set back my academic life.

Having a child would set by spiritual life back, too. At this point in my life I am not really spiritual but I am trying to be. I know that if I became pregnant it would only make it harder for me. Its already hard enough, I don't need it to be any harder.

Also if I had a child I would feel obligated to stay with the father of my baby. In some situations you might not really love the father /mother of your child, but out of obligation you stay with him/her. In the end you are not happy and you realise that you have wasted a portion of your life on an empty relationship. Personally I don't like to waste time.

I do want children, but when I have them I want to offer them the best life that they could have. I want to give them all that I had and more. In order to do that I need an education, (a good one) a stable job, and a good relationship with God.

If I had a child now I would most definitely not be able to provide the proper life for him/her. Even if I had a child in two to four years I would not be able to five it a proper life or proper care. I would not be able to reach all of my dreams as fast as I want to. I would not live my life the way I want to.

In essence that is why Teen Parenthood is Not for Me.