A drastic change that has always been present in my neighborhood but which has really become obvious

over the past years is teenage pregnancy.  Although it has been known to happen with some girls over the

years the number of teenage mothers has increased tremendously.  I guess that you could actually call my

neighborhood the capital of teenage pregnancy.  I really do not understand why these girls actually do this to

themselves, most of these girls are between the ages of 13 to 16 and have their whole lives ahead of them.  Its

like whenever you walk through the streets of my neighborhood all you see and bump into are teenage girls with

baby carriages.  That is not even the worst of it most of the time the girls are walking around with baby

carriages and have another one on the way.  All these young girls dreams of becoming somebody have all been

tarnished because of one little mistake that they could have controlled.  It really gets me upset when I see that a

young girl has the potential to actually make something of herself but cannot because now she has someone

who has to depend on her.  From my own experience, I have a best friend who has actually gone through having

a child but has actually overcome all the odds and has graduated high school with the help of her mother.  It took

a lot of effort from her part and her mothers to help her get through school.  Girls have to realize that when their

mothers tell them the consequences of having a baby they really have to take it into consideration.  Imagine

yourself being a teenage mother and not having anyone to help you and having to do everything on your own?

How would you feel when all your friends are going out to a party and you are not able to go because you have

no one there to take care of your child while you hang out with friends?  Do you teenage girls ever wonder what

would of could have been of your life if you could turn back time.  What about the reputation that you are giving

all the teenage girls like me who are trying to make something of themselves but are always faced with people

who feel that we are going to turn out like you?  I am trying to overcome all the obstacles that are thrown in my

face.  Just because I walk around with my best friend and she has a child does not mean that I will end up

having a child just like her.  My heart is always following my dreams of becoming a teacher and having a child is

not one of my plans right now.  My neighborhood has had a great impact on me telling me that I have to make

somebody out of myself and not become another statistic of my neighborhood.  Why become another statistic

when I can bet the odds.

     When I look at pictures and think back to the days when we were all kids playing outside not having to worry

about anything like drugs, gunshots, and all the things that usually go on in my neighborhood, I feel as if that’s

the only place that I can go to and escape from all the madness that is going on.  Why is it that the only

memories that you can have of your old neighborhood can only be kept in pictures and in your head?  Why can't

we just get the neighborhood back to the way that it used to be?  I remember the days when we used to play

jump rope, steal the bacon, freeze tag, hide and seek hoping that we won't be found.  Back then we had no

worries because our parents would be outside watching us with their radios and everyone was friends with

everyone.  It was like one big happy family where everyone would watch each others children and not let

anything happen to them.  Now its like everyone stays inside their home just looking out the window thinking

about the days that you did not even have to fear that anything would happen to you when you walk home by

yourself late.  The neighborhood has gone through such a drastic change going from one big happy

family to a family torn apart by problems.  There are times where I actually wish that I could turn back the hands

of time and actually bring back the big happy family.  We should not have to fear sitting on the stoop praying that

a gunshot wont hit you.  We should not have to worry about our kids being exposed to drugs and the drug

dealers, thinking that it is okay for them to do that and one day your child following in the same path.  I guess

now all that we actually can do to bring back the old neighborhood is to look and bring back the memories that

we had because fear of what is going on in the neighborhood has taken over everyone and there is no way that

we could actually bring it all back.