Kinshasia Johnson
I was at home one day and I was convinced that my phone was vibrating because I felt vibration in my stomach. Every time I picked up the phone to check if I missed a call or a message, there was nothing there. At that time, I did not know that I was feeling a baby’s heartbeat. However, it became more and more suspicious to my family when they did not hear me complaining about menstrual cramps, so a family meeting was called. They asked me to do a pregnancy test just to be sure. After I did the test I found out that I was pregnant.
I was only 14 years old. What would people think of me? During that time, I was in third form at Bridgeport High School and I was a motivated, focused, goal-oriented student. But now, I was a student afraid of the disappointments I would bring to others, knowing that I was only 14 and pregnant.
My father was very angry. He used every opportunity he had to express that anger. He is a deacon at a church, and at that time he was caught between his faith and his pregnant daughter. He chose his faith. As a part of his congregational beliefs, having a daughter who is only 14 and pregnant, you would have two choices; give up your position as a deacon, or sit in the back bench. He was willing to do neither.
That’s when my mother took me in to live with her, even though she was not working. Her unemployment made life difficult, as she now had to take care of a pregnant teen.
I registered to attend to Women’s Centre, but that was also a challenging. There were many times I couldn’t afford bus fare to go to school, and I had to request assistance with financing my bus fare. When I started attending the Centre I found out that they had a lunch program, so we did not have to purchase lunch. I must admit that the Women’s Centre played a very integral role in my holistic development. The counsellors provided emotional support and they never turned a blind eye or told me that they were too busy to listen. They guided me through the entire process and they still do up to this day. While attending the Centre, I was trying to maintain a levelled head because there is a lot of stigma that is attached to being a teenage mother. I wanted to ensure that I did not end up being a statistic. I aimed to be a revolutionised young mother.
Nevertheless, it was still very difficult being a teen mom, and being reintegrated into the formal school system. You would have to be equipped mentally to deal with the comments that would be thrown at you, people’s perception of you due to the fact that you’re a teen mother etc. I overcame that showing them that not all teen mothers are the same. I showed them that I know what I am about and my aim was to be educated, stay focused and complete my studies. After a while it became easier as my peers started to respect me.
I conditioned my mind to push forward regardless of my circumstances; but, I could not have overcome them without the assistance I got from the Women’s Centre, the Child Development Agency as well as specific individuals. They all provided well needed guidance as well as financial assistance and that was a huge part of the reason why I was able to complete high school. All these ingredients led to me passing all eight CXC’s in ones, twos and threes and also attained a high school diploma. The more awards I got, fuelled me with the motivation I needed. But whenever that didn’t work I looked at my son and the mere fact that I would never want him to go through what I went through gave me the strength to overcome all the obstacles that I was faced with.
I am currently permanently employed to the Electoral Office of Jamaica as a Registration Clerk. I am also enrolled at the Caribbean Maritime Institute on a part time basis, where I am pursing a Bachelor of Science degree in the field of Logistics and Supply Chain Management. I am in the process of matriculating to year two in the degree program. In addition, from time to time I represent the Women’s Centre of Jamaica Foundation by sharing my testimony. I am also a 2016 Gold ICON awardee, a scholarship which was presented to me by NCB Foundation.
