This essay is directed to all teenage girls who want to have a baby now while in high school, and who think it will be all fun and games.

I am an eighteen-year-old mother in my senior year of high school. My son was born January 9, 1995. I had to miss two months of school in the beginning of the new semester. I have also already missed three days because my babysitter could not watch him.

While I was at home during those two months, I thought it was hard to take care of him and have a tutor. That wasn't even anything to worry about really. I had my tutor during the day and at night I only had to worry about my child. But I didn't realize how hard it would be until I went back to school. I had so much make-up work to do and at night instead of just having to worry about Jonathan, I also had to get homework done, so I could graduate.

It is very hard to get homework done when I have to pay most of my attention to a three-month-old baby. He can only entertain himself for so long, then he gets bored and starts to scream until I pick him up. Then I feed him dinner, give him a bath, then he wants to play. So by the time I get him down to sleep it's too late to finish my homework. I have to go to bed, too, because I have to get up at 5: 30 to get both of us dressed by the time my boyfriend comes to pick us up. We drop off Jonathan at his babysitter's and then go to school.

Being a teenage mother and still going to school is very difficult. It takes a lot of responsibility and patience. There is so much I want to do, like going out dancing with my friends, but I can't. I have to be responsible and take care of my son and get my homework done. c