"My Identity"

Mi nombre es Joseline.

In English my name is Joseline.

I got my name from my parents.

In the name dictionary my name means brilliant and full of high inspiration.

That definition doesn’t make my name.

What makes my name is my son Adrian.

He’s seven months now and he’s just the perfect baby.

I got pregnant at age 16.

I don’t regret it.

Even though I went through so much.

I hid my pregnancy for 5 months.

Only my boyfriend and I knew.

I was scared to tell my parents.

To tell anyone.

I was scared that I would get judged for what I did.

That my friends would leave me.

When my friends founds out, all of a sudden they disappeared.

None of them were by my side.

When my parents found out, It was a disaster.

They screamed at me and cried.

I felt bad.

I had disrespected them.

I felt alone.

The day after they found out, we went to church.

When church finished, my parents went to talk to Father Kevin.

He said to them, “This is just a test to see how Christian you are”.

I apologized to them.

They forgave me.

My son makes me who I am now.

He’s the reason to go higher in life.

My motivation.

From the moment I heard his first heartbeat until now, he has stolen my heart.

He makes me see life in a different way.

Now I understand my mom.

I used to think that my mom would tell me “Don’t do this, don’t do that”, just to make me mad.

I was wrong.

Everything she told me was for my own good.

So that nothing bad would happen to me.

Now that I’m a mom, I realize that.

Many people judge me.

Many think that I’m not capable of achieving my goals.

I’m going to show them that they’re wrong.

I plan on going to college afterwards.

I want a better future for my son and I.

I want others to be proud of me.

To see that only because I have a kid doesn’t mean that I have to give up on my dreams.

That he only gives me a better reason to achieve my goals.

Most of all, I want my family and son to be proud of me.

I want Adrian to see his mom as a role model.

To never feel ashamed to tell everyone, “That’s MY mom”.

My name isn’t made by letters.

My name is made by my son Adrian.