You Got To Fight For Your Right (To Stay Young)

I have recently pondered about a certain decade within the ages that I feel many over look or don’t acknowledge. The Roaring Twenties (1920s) in the culture of the United States is recognized for its lovely women flappers and suave gang members during the Prohibition, as well as the Immigration Act of 1924 and the Scopes Trial. Some even think of how baseball was so popular then, too. (Give some credit to Babe Ruth for that). Yet, it seems a lot of people forget what marked this era right from the beginning.

On August 26^th of 1920, the Secretary of State Bainbridge Colby signed the law that granted women’s right to vote, which was the 19^th Amendment of the Constitution. A major event that was indented to the United States timeline, and I’m certain many feminists admire Susan B. Anthony for her courage that made it happen. For those young women who don’t identify themselves as feminists, does it ever cross their mind at how fortunate they are to have this freedom now?

Sure, voting is one thing but look at the much larger picture. The voting was just a small step stone to the rose garden to finally be equal to our fellow male counterparts. To be equal meant to have a better, more fruitful life. A woman could achieve whatever she wished, beyond being a stay at home wife and mother. Unfortunately, a lot of young women my age choose to be that wife and/or mother.

I graduated from high school last year in June. It seemed every year in high school, more and more girls my age (even younger) were becoming pregnant. I don’t understand the fascination with becoming pregnant at such a young age, but for some reason girls just gush about it like it’s more important than prom. It seems a lot of girls at a young age actually plan their pregnancy more than they would ever with prom. Now, I realize teen mothers did not all purposely become pregnant. Some have used protection and have it fail, I know it happens. What I can’t process is that with all the knowledge we have access to such as protection (contraceptives), why wouldn’t some young women ever invest in it? They couldn’t have possibly believed the pull-out method would work every single time. Unless they were that uneducated about sex health, for which I blame parents for if they never really spoke with their children about sex. Then again, you can find information on the internet and at the library nowadays.

This is possibly the worst thing to ever think, but I believe if a girl chooses to become pregnant in high school it’s metaphorically suicide. This is how my thought process works: a girl is intentionally giving up all of her hopes and dreams so she can raise another life. A baby is definitely a roadblock in the journey of discovering yourself.

One thing that really just upsets me to the core is when a girl makes the statement, “My baby saved my life. If it wasn’t for him/her I’d be dead. I would be nothing.”

I understand their viewpoint if they dabbled in drugs or alcohol, it’s magnificent that they found something to halt their addiction—but! Is it worth it? They couldn’t take care of their bodies themselves, but once a baby was in the picture they could automatically transform their habits? It makes no sense to me whatsoever. Essentially I think if someone honestly believes their life wasn’t worth living, why try to raise another?

As for marriage, I’m just trying to figure out why everyone my age is trying to rush into things right after high school is let out. To me, marriage is not just some legal document. I will value the sanctity of marriage when I am ready, and I believe that is all thanks to my biological parents who have been married for eighteen years.

Young people really need to stop cropping the photo and look at it as a whole. I wonder if they ever really thought about their partner, if they truly can see themselves with this person for years and years. In time everyone will change, no matter what. Technically, the body and mind isn’t fully developed until the age of twenty-five through twenty-nine. By twenty-five, someone may have already finished their college degree and I’m sure that person has transformed over the years since high school.

Some people just need to try and stay being a teenager or young adult as long as they can. I definitely don’t want to grow up anymore than I can. I’m relishing life with my freedom of spending time with my friends and family, and these are the times I want to remember most. I’m also earning an education like Susan B. Anthony and many other women fought for. They wanted more for women as a whole, and I’m making certain their efforts don’t go to waste.