To my friend who is also a young mother,

I can't imagine what it is like to be you. I can't even begin to pretend what it's like to be responsible of another human being that you carried inside of you for 9-10 months. I can't imagine the feeling of loneliness you experience everyday when you watch Snapchat stories or scroll through social media.

You watch stories of friends you had in high school who are in college, partying, drinking while you are at home, feeding a baby and cleaning a house. You are on a level that none of us can comprehend. Many of us are still bringing our laundry home on the weekends so our mothers do it for us, many of us have a meal plan so we don't have to cook.

But, you are strong. You are an incredible woman who has experienced the pain of birth and an emotional bond between a mother and a child. Our mothers told us our whole lives that there's no kind of love greater than the first time you hold your child in your arms, but many of us don't know what that's like. So many of us are not mature enough to put ourselves in your shoes.

You go to the grocery store and you are judged for carrying a car seat and looking as young as you do. They give you dirty looks or whisper about you, but you did nothing wrong. Being a young mother does not make you filthy; it is not wrong, just like joining the military or being in the workforce over college is not filthy or wrong.

You have been pushed aside in your teens or your 20's because your life has become motherhood and work. Everything becomes about your child; how cute they are, their needs. Many of us are skipping our classes because we're hungover while you are expected to get up every few hours to feed and nurture someone else.

You're forced to worry about food, rent, laundry, dishes, electricity, not having enough time for yourself. This makes you powerful, stronger, and better than so many of us. When you told your friends you were pregnant, they stopped inviting you over, knowing there would be alcohol and drugs around. Pregnancy was filled with watching Netflix alone and wishing someone wanted to keep you company, and once you had your baby, everyone came around again, claiming they wanted to be the godmother or the godfather, but didn't put in the effort to be there for you.

But, I'm here for you, the way I was during pregnancy, and the way I will be when your baby graduates high school. I can't tell you I understand what it's like to be you, because I don't. But, I'm the child of a young mother and I love and respect you for all you do for your kid. You have learned maturity so much faster than the peers around you. Your life did not end just because you had a baby. Your life and your happiness is just beginning and you will always have a friend in me.

No matter what anyone says about you or about young mothers, you are an incredible person who deserves so much more credit than society gives you. There is nothing wrong with being a teen mother or a young mother. You are stronger than almost all of us.

Love,

Your Friend