BROOKE

…so much in the last two years. When I was a junior in high school, I had my life planned out. I was going to go to school in California. I wanted to become a nurse and join the Peace Corps. After my time in the Peace Corps, I would travel the country working as a trauma nurse. When I turned 30, I would settle down and maybe have a family. When I was 17, I got pregnant. At first, I was devastated. How could this happen to me? I took the proper precautions to prevent getting pregnant. After the father found out, we had some disagreements. Now, I would for sure be raising him alone. I knew having a baby would change my plans, but I didn’t realize how much my plans would really change. I’ve decided to raise my son in Laramie. So of course I had to choose a school here. I decided to go to LCCC for my first two years; then I’d transfer to UW to get my Bachelor’s in Elementary Education. I started the 2007 fall semester off well. I had some trouble with getting my classes organized. Three weeks after the semester started, we found out that my mother has breast cancer; because of this, my education has been put on hold. I do believe that if I didn’t have my son I would have gone to California to go to school. So my son is the blessing that kept me here so I could help my mom get through this tough time in her life. If I had a chance to go back in time I wouldn’t change a thing. My son is the best thing that ever happened to me.