Sophomore Jaymi Nixon is viewed by her mother as having the maturity level of a 25 year old. That view, however, does not make being pregnant an easy reality to accept.

 “When you’re so young it’s really hard to comprehend that you’re going to have a child,” Nixon said.

According to familyfirstaid.org, 34 percent of females become pregnant at least once before the age of 20. Eight in ten of these pregnancies are unintended.

She has been with her boyfriend, junior Jose Lopez, for approximately two years and has discussed future plans of having a child, but they didn’t want to have one so soon.

While most girls would dread the moment of telling their parents there may be a chance that they’re pregnant, Nixon’s close relationship with her mom allowed her to do so. Her mother took her to get pregnancy tests.

“I was excited, but at the same time I wanted to cry,” said Nixon as she described the moment she discovered she was to expect a child. Although her mom was also excited she still felt a sense of anxiety.

“She’s always worried about me being a teen mom … because she thought I was going to be a single teen parent,” said Nixon.

Those worries have also crossed the minds of Nixon and Lopez. As soon as they found out about the pregnancy they immediately started planning for their new future together.

According to pregnantteenhelp.org, two-thirds of all teenagers who have a baby will not graduate from high school, though she says she plans to finish out high school.

Lopez began looking for a job as Nixon plans to work part time after giving birth. They will be fighting tough odds to stay out of poverty, according to familyfirstaid.org, which states that 80 percent of unwed teenage mothers end up on welfare.

Apart from future financial concerns some other unexpected worries emerged.

Nixon was hospitalized for five to six days for possible kidney stones. If she would have waited longer she would have experienced kidney failure. Everyone feared for the health of Nixon and her baby, especially boyfriend Lopez.

“His main concern was the baby,” she said. “He was worried about me, but when I first told him that the baby was okay he started to calm down.”

Though Nixon is happy to be having a child and does not consider her baby to be a mistake, she insists she is not the kind of person who forgets about her goals. For the past four years Nixon has discovered her passion in animals and wants to become a veterinarian technician. Nixon will soon be a mother but has no desire to stop working toward her dream.

“I’m one of those girls who set a goal and do everything I can to achieve it,” Nixon said.

Nixon is not disturbed by the idea that she will be viewed as a child raising a child.

“It’s not like I’m really going to have a double life,” Nixon said. “It’s mainly just going to be I have to show more of my maturity than what I usually do.”