If you’re a pregnant teen or teen mom, chances are you’ve already heard words like: “You’re not gonna graduate.” or “There go your dreams of college.”  or “Now you’re gonna be stuck in a dead end job supporting your baby.”

It’s these expressions that set pregnant teens and teen moms up for failure, as well as teen dads.

And all the talkers want to use statistics to help support their claims (which is meant to be a deterrent for teen pregnancy) like:

-40% of teen moms graduate high school

-2% graduate from college before age 30

-80% of dads don’t stick around

The truth is though, you do not have to be another statistic.  Teen moms can dare to dream just like everyone else and in the same way you were dreaming before you got pregnant or became a mom.  Being a mom just means that you have to make some adjustments. It’s not going to be easy, but it’s definitely not impossible.

Teen Moms Dare to Dream is a grassroots movement to gather teen moms and pregnant teens (and supportive boyfriends/husbands) from all over to challenge, support, mentor and encourage each other to make your dreams come true. The key is in collectivity, because it is collective efforts that can move mountains.

So join the movement, sign up for notifications on events and other resources, and Dare to Dream!

Baby Steps: Redefining the

Teen Mom Statistic

by: Natasha Olivera

**COMING SOON**

Excerpt:

I was seventeen when I learned I was pregnant.  I   had just graduated high school and had been with my  boyfriend for 9 months.  After I made it very clear to him that I did not want him sticking around just for a child, we decided that we would raise our child together and made the decision to move in with each other.

Several months later, at my baby shower, I can clearly recall my mother’s cousin asking me, “What are you going to do now with your life?”  The question seemed redundant to me at the moment.  What do you mean what am I gonna do?  I’m gonna go to school and work.  That was the plan before I got pregnant;  why would it change now?

Nevertheless, she told me I was crazy and that I would have to choose because I wouldn’t be able to do both. Call it innocence, or ignorance, or call it determination and perseverance but I told her: “Watch me”.

Since the day people found out I was 17 and pregnant, whether they were family or friends or strangers, the one thing I quickly learned to accept was that there existed a level of expectation that equated to failure.  Perhaps not fail completely, but at least not become anything more than a statistic of a teenage mom.  According to norms, I had failed my parents, my siblings, extended family and friends, but more importantly, I had failed myself.  And as a result, I was heading down a one way road that was paved by unequivocal statistics that had been set by others before me and that would lead me to abandoning all of my dreams of a higher education, a fulfilling career and the ability to become a positive role model for my kid.

15 years later, though, I am here; a successful educator, writer, speaker, philanthropist,  and, of course, mother to two teenage boys.  What’s important though, is that I didn’t give up, no matter how easy that could have been, and was what everyone expected.  Instead, I set myself up to achieve a goal and I accomplished it along with many others I have set up for myself over the years.  And you can do the same.

In “Baby Steps: Redefining the Teen Mom Statistic” Natasha Olivera takes you through the “baby steps” needed to become a successful mother, student, employer/entrepreneur and member of your community using an authentic, real life and motivational approach that teaches you that if we never failed than we would never be able to succeed.

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Look for updates on book release information.

Enjoy the latest entry of short stories in Natasha Olivera’s witty, humorous, and always honest blog as she stumbles through parenting two teen boys and living in a house full of testosterone.

Much unlike many of the other mommybloggers out there that are talking about their infants and toddlers Natasha writes about what NO ONE wants to blog about!! Raising TEENS!! And boys at that!

In a no holds barred approach, Natasha reveals the amusing, the awkward and uncomfortable as well as the touching and emotional experiences of raising her two teen boys in what she believes is an ever-growing “girly-girl” world, where more men know how to pluck their eyebrows than screw a screw.

Visit Me, My Guys, & My Stumbles Through Parenthood

EDUCATOR|WRITER|SPEAKER|PHILANTHROPIST

Using her own experiences and challenges as a young teen mom, Natasha’s vision is to inspire, motivate and empower young mothers to face and overcome their fears and doubts and is dedicated to showing young mothers that anything is possible regardless of what the statistics say.  Whether she’s writing, educating, speaking or engaged in community work, Natasha is on a mission to make a difference, the way others made a difference in hers.

After getting pregnant at 17 and being told that she would not be able to continue going to school and help provide for her family at the same time, Natasha was motivated to prove to everyone and herself that it could in fact be done.

Today, Natasha has a Masters in Literature and teaches writing at Florida International University.  As an educator she has been impacting the lives of children and young adults for over ten years.  She values the relationship she creates with her students so that they not only learn academics, but about themselves, and the world around them as well.

Natasha has taken her skills as an educator and her ability to connect with an audience, and committed herself to speaking to young teen moms, teaching them how they too can redefine the teen mom statistic.  Using a no excuses approach, she speaks directly to each girl in the audience and arms them with the tools needed to feel inspired and prepared to face the challenges that come their way.  In addition, Natasha holds special topics workshops and is currently working on a book titled,

“Baby Steps: Redefining the Teen Mom Statistic”.  In it, Natasha outlines the steps every young mother should take to ensure her success as a mother, a student, an employee and citizen of today’s society.

As a writer Natasha also brings to life her own personal stories as the mother of two teen boys, readers are immersed into the funny, witty, sarcastic and always real world of living in a house full of testosterone on her blog “Me, My Guys and My Stumbles Through Parenthood”.

Lastly, as a philanthropist, Natasha values the power of collective efforts to create change in the world.  She helped co-found Las Mercedes Reforestation Project, a non-profit organization in Nicaragua planting trees to help revive the eco-system, and educating the community about the negative impact of de-forestation and Family Ties Foundation, a non-profit aimed at assisting the families of wounded soldiers.