One day things seem normal and the next day you walk in the doors prepared for the worst. You have this in vision of yourself with all your dreams and goals lying ahead of you. Then you remind yourself of the route you chose that will change things for the rest of your life.

That’s what happened to me.

Sure, the first couple months weren’t bad. I had the frightening nightmares, and everyday it sat in my mind: “does anyone know?” Or how about being truthful to my best friend’s, and question myself, “if I tell them, can they actually keep my secret?”

The feelings going on inside of you change every day. They can go from good to bad in minutes. Right away you think to yourself, “people or going to find out sooner or later, so what is the big deal.” Some days you try to hide and other days it doesn’t faze you and you feel like you can conquer the world. But what happens when you hear those rumors?

Rumors aren’t new in history and there definitely not new in high school. Rumors are like the game telephone. You know the one where you sit with a group of people and one person makes something up and by the end you get to see if it’s correct. Oh yes, high school students just love playing telephone.

By the time the rumors started, I had already prepared myself for the worst. I actually had no clue what was to be expected, but I was determined not to let that change who I was as a person. It all came down to who were my true friends. One thing I have learned in high school is to choose my friends wisely. You can not trust everyone, even when it seems like you can, most people just want to be nosy and let you think they care.

Alright, so the rumors started and I couldn’t believe the stories. Of course the fact I was pregnant was true, but how the story played out was hilarious. It’s weird because it never bothered me that people were hearing the wrong story. What mattered to me was that I knew the truth and so did my best friends. I didn’t feel like I had to waste my time telling people the truth when they didn’t even care in the first place. I had to face it that I was just something fun to talk about and if they wanted to waste there time so be it.

As the days carried on and basically everyone knew, I started excepting what was going on. I wasn’t trying to hide my mistake anymore and I started concentrating better in school. My motivation level was high and being a senior and knowing I will be graduating is something I was going to accomplish. Graduating from high school and walking across that stage will prove to myself and others that you can do anything. This is a once and a life time experience and I wouldn’t miss it for the world.

I have learned life doesn’t always turn out the way you intended it to. You learn to except the unexpected and just keep on living. This experience so far has really changed me as a person. I vowed to myself that this wasn’t going to change the real Amanda. I will continue to stand tall with my head held high, because I believe that is the most powerful message I can get across.