Being a Homeless Teen Mom Didn't Hold Me Back

Since the day Zoila was born it seemed that her mom never wanted her around. Her whole young life, she was always bouncing from one friend's house to another, and never really having a home until her mom had a new baby - then she was invited to move back in. Being the oldest now, her mom wanted her to take care of her younger brothers.

But she was only ten years old - overwhelmed with responsibility, stress, and pressure that not even teens or high school kids should have on them. But, she made it through elementary school and was really excited to go on to middle school, but instead her mom decided to send her to Dominican Republic to stay with her grandparents. She stayed with them until she was 16 years old when her mom finally asked that she return home and that they try to build a good relationship.

For the first couple of months everything seemed to be working well. Then, a surprise to everyone, Zoila found out she was pregnant. Her mom was so mad about it that she let it ruin the relationship they were trying to build. Her mom did NOT want to have a new teenage mom around.

And, after her baby was born, since she had to stay home and care for her son anyway, her mom made her take care of all her siblings just like when she was ten. It was a lot more complicated this time since she had her own baby to take care of as well.

When Zoila finally decided to go back to high school it made the relationship with her mother even harder. She wanted Zoila to stay home all the time to take care of the kids and didn't want her to advance herself with school and education. Zoila refused to drop out and her mom proceeded to kick her and her new baby out of the house.

She worked with her high school guidance counselor to try to find a shelter and they finally found the perfect place - Covenant House! It was a perfect solution - and a path for her to graduate. Every day she would wake up early, get ready, and drop her son off at daycare, then a full day of school, followed by an internship, homework, and then repeating the whole thing every single day. She worked so hard.

In June, a couple of weeks before graduation, Zoila got a call from her guidance counselor with amazing news! She had been chosen to speak at graduation as valedictorian; graduating with honors. She was so excited, had worked so hard, and felt so proud to have been recognized like that.

She had always believed that hard work pays off, as does persistence, determination, overcoming adversity, focus and sticktoitiveness. But, she had never imagined that she would achieve such an accomplishment. Her graduation speech was all about how even when things get hard, no matter how hard they get, you should never give up. No matter how many obstacles appear in your way, you should always keep striving to achieve your goals.

Having her son there to see her give her valedictorian speech - she was the top of the class - really underlined her accomplishment. She felt that not only had she accomplished something powerful for herself, but also something that would be really good for him too.

Once she was finished and everyone was cheering and clapping, she saw her son jumping up and down, so excited, and it filled her with pride, hope, love and joy. teen pregnancy story time.

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MercerCares is honored to support Covenant House and SleepOut America. Mercer, make tomorrow today.
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[cslife]

One question???

If the mom didn’t want her then why did she have more

[e.anelson]

This is by far one of the best stories on here.

[duchi]

*This is by far*
The most meaningful story this channel has

[smiley]

I like this story because this girl showed that even when your parents aren’t there for you you can still rise and be able to succeed

[mlouise]

“ why would u get pregnant at 16?!?”
“Mum we are 16 years apart”

[tundrawolf]

Bless her heart! She is a great mom! :)

[ranedorillo]

My mom was pregnant with my brother in university in the Philippines. She raised him and was struggling since my dad already moved here to Canada to be with my grandma who was sick at the time. She made it through University and got the money to fly here to Canada.. Mom’s are the absolute best! ♥️ 👩🏻

[Sgtalex-iveo]

Her: becomes successful and rich
KNOCK KNOCK
Her: who’s there
Her child: it’s your mom and a guy that looks like your age

[yuhhh]

You're such a strong girl! I hope your lovely son becomes to be like you!

[middlebygrace]

Nice that even though she went through such a hard time that she still ends her story with a positive and inspirational message.

[jazmainiandevil]

"No matter how many obstacles come in your way, you should always try to achieve your goals" I needed to hear this, thank you

[potato.net.wierdpotatofwen]

Her son is so cute (not like I've seen him in real life but just seeing how he was smiling and playing and just being himself).

[TampaTec]

👏👏👏👍🎉 congrats overcoming obstacles. my dad went to jail 1992 My mom had ran an illegal daycare to pay the bills, I was about 13 but I ended up watching all the kids along with my 1yr old sister while my mom took naps in her room because she was so depressed losing our home, cars, and husband. after my dad got out of jail he was depressed and O.D. on heroin. After H.S. I slept on the floor in my brother's tv repair shop for months but later on things worked out finally for me after I moved to Florida which is cheaper to live. Now thank God for YouTube and Google Adsense I'm saving for a house to buy for my fam. So sometimes it's best to leave behind anchors in your life so you can stay afloat and sail away into the sunset ⛵.

[abecohen]

I was Zoila's teacher at the school from which she graduated. I am incredibly proud of her and her perseverance and strength. She is a truly amazing person. I just want to take a minute to recognize her support system. Her incredibly hard-working counselor mentioned in the video is not a white woman (with glasses and blonde hair), she is a bad ass woman of color. Representation matters!

[margaretpelcher]

Imagine like one day she has a high paying job and the mom needs help



*I would say hell na*

[ghitaelouardi]

That's the best story i ever heard in my life !!!
🤤🤤🤤😮😮😮😮😮😁😁😁😁
God blesses you for your life

[nearenjoyer]

she's so strong... mad respect. it brought tears to my eyes ;)

[plzfollowdisnoob]

Her: *about to die*
Mom: watch your siblings while I go some where.

[froakachutmm]

This is easily one of the best story booth stories, as she’s someone with a lot of determination and perseverance and she is really strong willed