4 - New Beginnings
El Tejano
Overcoming struggles alters students’ lives
I
by Kimberlie Casarez t’s 7 a.m. on a school day. Eliza Valdez (12) opens her eyes and just lies there for a while. About 10 minutes passes as she snuggles in her comfy bed. Then she eventually gets up to begin getting herself ready for a regular school day. Eliza is a typical high school student. Like most, she makes pretty good grades and has a plan for her future. But for many teenagers in today’s high schools, things are not as simple. Many teens struggle with overcom-
ing adversities and finding a new way to cope with high school as they adjust to the changes in their lives. It’s 6 a.m. on a school day. “I wake up always in a rush, I have to get both myself and Adlene dressed, run to the bus stop, drop her off at the day care and then head to class, and I still have to be on time,” Crystal Sepulveda (12) said. Crystal makes B’s in class, studies culinary arts, and is a mother to a one-year old daughter. According to her, the hardest thing about being a teenage mother who is still attending school is being away from her daughter. “There’s not enough time with Adlene and I have to work to support her too,” Crystal said. Working part-time at Whataburger, striving to pass all of her classes and making sure she has all of her credits in order to graduate and move on with her life is hard enough. Add to all of that the responsibility of raising a child as well. With all of that responsibility, it is easy to see why statistics show that only about 1/3 of teenage mothers graduate from high school. According to the 2005 report from the Department of Agriculture, the cost of raising a child to the age of 17, which includes, housing, food, transportation, health care and child care, will be approximately $500,000. Statistics also show that the annual income of a high school dropout would only be approximately $18,900, which over the time period of 17 years, only Seizing the moment adds up to about $331,300. That Crystal Sepulveda (12) bonds with her daughter. Each morning she uses the last few still leaves the parent $178,700 minutes before class starts to spend quality time with Adlene in the nursery. “The time I spend with Adlene in the morning before school helps me get through the day, short in raising their child. and I know she’s in good hands.” photo by Kimberlie Casarez
“I spend about $250 a month on my daughter. My advice to anybody who was planning on becoming a teenage parent is to wait to make sure that the child will be financially supported,” Crystal said. Despite the unexpected change in her life, she did not give up and still continues to work to reach her goals in both her academic and personal lives. Teenage pregnancy is not the only challenge that today’s students face. The people in the halls might seem like they are just like any other student on campus, but many of those students might be struggling with their own challenges. One such challenge might be the lure of drug use. “I did drugs all day every day; it was just a routine,” Angel Guerra (10) said. About a month ago, a typical night for Angel was going out and partying, which included the drug use. She was hardly ever at school, and her grades were continuously dropping. “I decided to change my ways because I had a near death experience that I never want to go through again. I also have a son that I want to do better for,” she said. Angel feels that she has pretty much gotten her life back together and straightened things out. She attends school regularly and has even picked up her grades. She has been sober for a while, but she continues to struggle with the symptoms that come from wanting to relapse. “I sometimes wake up both sweaty and cold, not because I am sick, but because I am actually sober rather than being on a drug, which is what my body is already used to,” Angel said. There are students who struggle everyday to move forward; that person could be the classmate that hides everything behind a smile. Perhaps as students there is a lesson to be learned from Crystal and Angel. No matter what the challenge is, facing it and overcoming it is within the average student’s power. “Although I struggle every day to support myself and my daughter, as well as come to school everyday and keep up my grades, I would not change a thing about my life,” Crystal said. “The struggle only makes me stronger for my years to come.”
“Change is the essence of life.
Be willing to surrender what you are for what you could become.” -author unknown
How are drug related offenses and criminal behavior linked? Nearly 80 percent of all prisoners in America are incarcerated for drug related offenses. Ten million people have been arrested for marijuana related offenses since 1965.
research compiled from www.pamf.org/teen/ risk/drugs infographics by Christina Davis