I was afraid of making the same mistakes as my parents, family members, and peers. I wanted more than my life to result in teen pregnancy. For my family teen pregnancy meant giving up on your dreams, education and freedom. Although my family was the only people surrounding me I believed in a life free from these barriers. Not having anyone to look up to, I weighed a lot of pressure myself to be different. The reminder of my race and family background played a major role in my insecurities of being successful. The lack of diversity in my community inspired me to be more than the person that everyone is expected me to be. Once I begun dancing a world of multiple opportunities were awarded to me and I knew that dancing was going to make me into …show more content…
the person I desired to be. I began dancing at The Progressive Center for Dance (PCD) in Philadelphia at 3 years old. Dancing at PCD offered diversity, freedom, safety, and discipline. While staying committed to dancing I gained friendships with peers that I now consider family. At PCD, I was offered a variety of diverse dance styles ranging from ballet and pointe to modern and African dance. While dancing I was committed to uphold a strict dance schedule, dancing almost day and night preparing for dance recitals, plays, and family demonstrations. Dancing was an escape for me, keeping me distracted from the negativity in my neighborhood. While dancing at PCD I was able to receive a proper technical education in dance, understudy successful African American dancers that performed with international companies, and receive assistance in achieving lifelong goals. After high school, I was first in my family to further my education at a university level. I was accepted to the Indiana University of Pennsylvania. Being the first in my family to attend a university fostered many different emotions. I was happy to make it this far but I was unprepared for the responsibilities I was intended to uphold. I was behind in all of my courses and would have rather been home. Without dance, a mentor, or family support I began to doubt attending college. I didn’t understand the information in my classes, looking around I didn’t see anyone like me, and my focus was else. I was placed on academic probation. I realized that being in this dark place was not going to help me achieve my goals, and that nothing was going to be rewarded to me without hard work and discipline. After being placed on academic probation I focused on how I was going to prove that I belonged at IUP. Although I wasn’t set on a major I was determined to succeed. The following semester all of my hard work and discipline led me to my first college achievement Dean’s List. I was happy to see that the structure I learned while dancing worked outside of the studio. Choosing a major at IUP was extremely difficult. I felt pressured into deciding on a career that was unfit for me. I was guided into a career in medicine by an advisor who barely knew me. I was pressured to take her advice because I believed she knew what was best for me. With no guidance at home I felt obligated to follow his advice. I failed over and over again in course that I was not passionate about succeeding in. It was not until I joined the IUP Dance Theater (IUPDT) that I felt like I was finally in a place where I belonged.
With the support and advice of my peers, I felt like I was part of a family. I was instantly reminded of dancing at PCD. Dancing with IUP’s pre-professional company I began to notice my confidence and my grades begin to flourish. Being a company member, I was offered numerous opportunities to attend and host annual Pennsylvania State Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (PSAPHERD) conventions, leadership conferences, lead roles in plays, dance solos, and opportunities to perform with professional dance companies. I’ve also been given numerous opportunities to volunteer to at Girl Scout retreats, annual events for senior citizens, and ballroom dancing with veterans. As a member of IUPDT, I was nominated as a Representative of the Dance program with this position I was able to attend board meetings, professional luncheons, and offered advice when needed. [ß Please correct this comma splice. You must not use a comma to join separate sentences.] Lastly, I was the first African American on the IUPDT Company to be the recipient of the Patricia Lamont Dance Scholarship. Being a recipient of this scholarship paved a way for other minority dancers in the program to receive funding towards their …show more content…
education. I was inspired to become a Dance Movement Therapist after discussing a variety of ways to help individuals who host physical and mental disabilities express themselves and gain confidence.
My nephew Jaden Hopkins drove my inspiration for this particular case. Jaden was diagnosed with lead poisoning, which led to many of his psychological, developmental and physical disabilities. Jaden lives his life in the shadows. His lack of communication has made it extremely difficult to understand what is going on, how he is feeling, or the treatment he receives from others. It wasn’t until I noticed his reaction to music that I have begun to better understand him. As he jumped up and down off beat to the music I have begun to notice how happy and free he became, it was almost as if I was looking at a completely different person. Watching Jaden evolve helped me to recognize the healing aspects of movement from a different perspective. I was fortunate to be able to share this intent with my advisor Holly Boda- Sutton. She immediately took me under her wing as she advised and prepared for a career in Dance Movement
Therapy. In preparation for a career in Movement Therapy, I was able to create my perception of a Dance Therapy session for my senior project. The Indiana County Child Day Care gave me permission to observe and teach children how to express emotions through movement. Here I was able to work with a diverse group of children. A moment of victory in this process was helping a child who suffered from a physical disability find comfort and enjoyment while participating in the movement activity. His lack of room made him extremely frustrated. I was able to encourage the students to use different levels of movement to offer more space for everyone. With this option, everyone was able to safely participate in the activity. Understanding that there will be many conflict issues working with a variety of different clients in this profession worried me, and although this experience was not planned I was still able to tackle the issues I faced and help the students find enjoyment in participating in the activity. Since graduating, I’ve encountered many struggles. Moving back with my parents, without a job, while being pregnant with my first child was not the life I imagined. I was back where I started. Even though I was a college graduate, to everyone else I was another statistic. I remember praying for god’s angels to guide me, I desperately wanted my family to led me or to share this experience with me. I wanted sibling rivalry or advice on how to be successful I wanted a push to get me from out of the place I begun. Although I didn’t get the answer I was looking for I received a better one. Meeting my daughter Ava gave me the strength, security, and happiness that I’ve always wanted. Being a mom has completely changed me into a better person. I am now clearer on future goals and how I am going to achieve them. I am in the process of revamping my transcript to revisit information that I may have missed in undergrad, as well as volunteering at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia to better prepare myself to work with diverse clients. I have become more faithful to Christianity and uphold values and principles that reflect my religion. I’ve grown closer and appreciative of my family and find there support helpful with raising my daughter. Lastly, I practice yoga and other forms of dance to keep stress at ease. I have truly appreciated how life has turned around for me and I feel more prepared to attend Drexel’s Dance Movement Therapy and Counseling Graduate Program to begin journeying in the career that I so desire.
I considered myself a performer, and after years training as a classical ballerina I expanded into stunting and tumbling. While on tour, I developed friendships and bonds with dancers strengthened by a mutual love for dance, a commonality over the pain our bodies endured daily, and conversations on bruised and broken toes.
The typical idea of a dancer is that they are tall, slender, full of energy, and lucky because they dance with all of the “stars”. Much of this is true, however, what many people do not think of are the many hardships that a dancer goes through in order to achieve their high status in the dance world. It takes much hard work and determination along with good direction to become a dancer. However, nothing good comes without a price. Dancers often times have many pressures put on them which can lead to physical and emotional damages. These damages occur through the pressures from the media, parents, teammates, and the stereotype that society has placed on dancers.
The history in a family can influence many generations. Certain families have stereotypes about them based on family history. This is a real world situation; the movie The Pregnancy Project, stereotypes about teen pregnancy where shown, and how they affect people. In the Pregnancy Project, the use of Gabi’s background influenced people’s reactions because her family has a history of teen pregnancy.
Teen pregnancy is one of the many recurring themes that continue to be a problem in the African American community. This project will document the reasons why African Americans become teen parents, I will get to the root of why African Americans are teen parents. This is a problem in the African American community because we are perceived to be a race that has a variety of negative stereotypes behind it. These stereotypes sometimes stem from things that actually happen in the community such as teen pregnancy, as well as people’s perception of African Americans. Society is affected by teen pregnancy in the black community by there not being more African Americans furthering their education through college and in some cases through high school due to responsibilities that comes with raising a child, as well as the children of teen parents having behavioral issues and social disabilities. Children of teen parents are likely to have children as teens (Healthy Teen Network, 2006). According to the National Conference of State Legislatures (2014) only 40 percent of teen mothers finish high school, and fewer than 2 percent actually finish college by age 30.
I remember the day she born. I was nervous for the simple fact that my life would never be the same. Soon no longer would I be known as just Ayanna, I would take on a new title. A title that I would share with so many woman, and after eight long hours of labor, I would now be known to the world as mommy.
A new year had just arrived. I can still picture January in my mind, the mood was sullen and dark, I could feel the cold reaching my bones, but now I know that was the best feeling I‘d ever had. I had only a few weeks left to start college, which had been my dream since I can remember. My dad had already paid for my tuition, I was so exited I had promised to do my best. Then, I realized there was an obstacle in my way. I knew I needed to make a decision on whether or not keeping my pregnancy, it sounds rough, but it was definitive. I did not want to miss school, so I was definitely not taking this to the last term. I just could not think of myself being prostrated in bed for so long, as an impediment to start school. Never, nothing would make me give up on my dreams, and that was another promise I had made to myself.
As a child growing up, there were times I would feel my mother would be out to just make
Becoming a mom at sixteen was the hardest thing I have ever done. Trying to work, go to school and take care of my daughter seemed impossible. My mom was always there to support me, but from the moment I found out I was pregnant I was determined to do it on my own. When you become a mom at sixteen the paths you can take in life change, and you are no longer a teenage you become an adult really fast.
In society today, teens are taught by the television and the media that pre-marital sex is not a bad thing. This problem is leading to many teenage pregnancies, that then lead to abortion. All over the world teens are faced with many challenges in their everyday lives. Sex is being portrayed as extremely appealing in the media, but what they don't show is the pregnancies and the unborn child that never asked to be created in the first place that is being discarded. Abortion is in no way acceptable, it is murder of an unborn child.
As a prospective doctor, I can expect to encounter life’s biggest challenges. Life and Death situations will present themselves, and it will be up to me to make a spontaneous decision which portrays confidence, finesse, and accuracy. There’s so little time to ponder the best procedure to perform; so little time to waste. Dance has prepared me for this type of challenge. It has perfected the preciseness in my judgments. On stage, there have been times when I will forget my steps and my mind goes blank; anxiousness seeps in rushing with adrenaline, and the initial thought is to “book it” and flee, but my experience in dance has enabled my ability to make quick altercations in the choreography, preventing the ruination of the showcase. Similarly, when an alarming case presents itself, as a doctor, I will be ready to make an accurate decision.
Teenage pregnancy has always been present in society. There is research stating that about half the women, born between 1900- 1910, who were interviewed were non-virginal at marriage (17 Ravoira). This contradicts some thoughts that premarital sexual behavior is something new. There was another study done in 1953, it found that one fifth of all first births to women were conceived before marriage (17 Ravoira). Even before our modern openness in discussing sexual behavior and acceptance that it does occur, it was quite routine. In earlier society, the incidence of teenage pregnancy was a moral problem. This was because people looked at the child as filius nullius (nobody's child), or illegitimate and the mother as bad, immoral, over- sexed, etc. (18 Ravoira). The child was being blamed for mearly being born, this is unfair to the child who had no fault in the matter (18 Ravoira). The real problem that was seen was the fact that the children were born out-of-wedlock. People seemed to have real difficulty accepting that the baby is still a baby no matter what conditions it was born under.
High school years are supposed to be a time for fun and exciting events in every adolescent's life. There are parties, ball games, and local after school hangout joints where we can meet. All combined to making high school the most memorable years of any teenage girl?s life. However, my experience in high school took an uneventful turn in tenth grade. My carefree ways had to end and a new wave of responsibility was presented to me. I found out that I was two months pregnant. My thoughts tugged at my conscience, how was I to tell the father of my unborn child? Would my mother support my decision? I had to forget about my partying ways and hanging with my friends. My freedom days of coming and going were about to be over and I quickly became the girl about whom everyone was talking.
One wrong step and some 15 years girl get pregnant. One wrong step and the society will mark you as the anathema. Still the teenage pregnancy is prominent aspect of many different countries in this world Teenage pregnancy means that some female is under age of 20 years when her pregnancy period is just ending. It is a serious issue which cannot be ignored both in developed as well as undeveloped countries. It creates great difficulties for teenage women. More than 50% of women cannot imagine problems which would affect their own lives. The baby born to the teenage mother has risk of the low birth weight risk of the pre-maturity and the risk of anemia along with other health issues to mother and child, mother suffers because of her body is not developed for supporting another life. In most of cases baby develops weakness and laziness that prevails throughout their lives.
Teen pregnancy is the term used in reference to those young ladies who get pregnant before attainment of legal adulthood that is between 13-18 years age group. It is a circumstance under which a teenager becomes pregnant unintentionally affecting her life-span development. Teen pregnancy is a prevalent factor among many teenage women especially in their 16th to 19th birthday. Pregnant teenagers are today faced with many obstetrics problems similar to those of the women in their age gap of 20s and 30s. Additional medical concerns are experienced by pregnant teenagers in the developing countries especially women aged 14 or younger. A wide range of teenage pregnancy is unplanned and therefore more risk factors are experienced especially the socioeconomic risks. In the developing countries, teen pregnancies lead to social issues and life complications due to early motherhood. The associated social issues include lower educational levels, increasingly poverty level and other poor life outcomes. In the developed countries, teenage pregnancy occurs outside of marriage, thus leads to the development of social stigma in variety of cultures and communities (Carlson, 2009).
As time goes on, teen pregnancy is becoming more and more common throughout the world. So many people frown upon this whole idea. Such people act as if the teenage parents’ world is going to come to an end. Although these kids’ life is going to be making a big turn, there are many of them who are mature enough to take on the responsibilities of a baby.