By Krystal Torres ’25
This article profiles Keila Diaz, a family friend of Krystal Torres ’25.
Having a baby at such a young age is never easy. The younger a woman is, the harder it can be. Keila Diaz had her baby when she was 13. She was still in middle school when this happened. “When I found out I was pregnant, I immediately became frightened and angry with myself. My initial thought was, ‘I won’t allow this,’” Diaz said.
School was one of the hardest things to balance out for her. Like any other middle school experience, kids make snarky comments, people constantly talk about you, other students stare and judge, and much more. Typical middle school behavior. That said, imagine having to experience middle school while pregnant. “Going to school while pregnant was challenging. Kids were looking at me differently. I lost friendships because their parents felt I was not a good example,” Diaz recalled.
Diaz tried as best she could to balance school while dealing with her pregnancy. She started to feel as if school was not important anymore: “I felt like I struggled a lot with finishing school,” she remembered. She knew she had to provide for herself and her baby, but being so young, she had a lot on her plate. She focused more on work and getting enough money to care for her and her baby’s needs. Because of this, she missed out on basic high school experiences such as football games, prom, homecoming, school activities, etc. ‘‘I missed prom and fun outings with close friends,” she said. “It was a challenge for me to stay focused in school knowing I had my baby waiting for me at home.”
One of the most important things to Diaz was being able to have a special and strong bond with her baby: “I would always leave early just to rush home to bond with my baby.” She wanted to make sure he knew she would always be there for him and that she would do anything for him. This constant rushing, stress, and chaos led Diaz to drop out of school.
Getting pregnant at such a young age changes a woman. Diaz said it had both good and bad effects: “ Bad because I now had to force myself to grow up in ways that young teenagers should not have to. For example, I felt like school was not as important anymore. I felt like I had to provide for my baby so I chose to work instead of focusing on school.” That said, she also found good in it. Not only did she now have a child of her own, a lifelong best friend, but also, “It was good because it taught me how to be independent, responsible and patient.” Babies require lots of attention, care, and patience, so these were all skills she had to develop so she could take care of her baby properly.
In some cases of teen pregnancy, the young mothers either get kicked out of their homes or don’t have their parents or loved one’s support. Some women go through this process feeling alone. However, this was not the case for Diaz. “ My mother, she held my hand throughout the whole process. She supported my decisions and basically was a second mother to my child, ” she said. Throughout her pregnancy, she knew she could turn to her mother for anything she needed. Whether she needed a shoulder to cry on, someone to talk to, someone to hug her, or even someone to please her pregnancy cravings, she knew she could always count on her mother to be there for her.
On February 5, 2006, her child, Isaiah, was born.
I asked Diaz what one of her most memorable motherhood moments is, and she said it was when he graduated high school last year: “ One of my most memorable experiences I had with my child is watching him graduating high school. I will say I give myself a pat on the back for that. I pushed myself to go to school because I knew he was watching and I wanted to set a good example for him.”
When I asked Diaz what’s something she could tell her younger self now she said, “ I would tell my younger self to slow down, stay focused, and finish school.”
I asked Diaz if she could go back in time and do anything differently would she? She responded with: “ If I could go back in time there’s many things I would’ve done differently. One of them would be just enjoying being a child and not growing up too fast.”
Being a teen mom doesn’t define a young woman or make her any less than. I asked Diaz what her advice would be to other young teen moms and she said, “ Don’t let having a baby slow you down from chasing your dreams. Having a child should motivate you to go even harder on what you want for yourself in life. Setbacks are only okay when you are able to pick yourself back up.” Having a child is a blessing, no matter what circumstances it is something that shouldn’t be frowned upon. No teenager should ever feel ashamed for having a child while being young; they should just use it as motivation for themselves.
Like Diaz, even if you experience a minor setback, like dropping out of school, it doesn’t determine your success or your character. Now, Diaz is working at Kindercare in Monroe as a preschool teacher. She finished high school and is three classes away from getting her diploma in early childhood education.
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