Tuesday, May 21, 2013

From Teen Mom to NASA Employee (don't read this if you like to make excuses)

I had to share the interview I did with Heather Thomas for the Pearson Students blog

Every time I talk to her I'm reminded that anytime I think I'm busy or that life is hard I just need to remember moms. 

Moms who go to college and work amaze me. I was a nanny, and it was HARD work....and I know it was NOTHING compared to being a full-time mom. When I took care of kids I was getting paid and it was the only thing I had to do - it never eluded me that moms have to take care of kids and contend with that thing we call life.

Heather has done this beautifully, and her story and successes are a great reminder that we really can do anything - our only limitations are often the ones we set on ourselves.

Here's Heather's story:

When Heather Thomas was 11 years old she got the news that her mother had been killed by a drunk driver. After her mother’s death she lived with various family members, and the lack of stability and motherly guidance led to her getting pregnant at age 15.

Heather decided to give her baby up for adoption. But immediately after her daughter was born, she changed her mind: “I was in tears saying ‘I wanna keep my baby!’” she shares, laughing at the memory.

At 16 years old Heather decided to take responsibility for her child and her life. She dropped out of high school, got her first apartment, and started working.

At age 18, she was given custody of her younger brother, who was 13 years old at the time; she cared for him and her ailing grandmother.

Heather got married and her husband had a son; she worked multiple full time jobs to provide for her growing family.

Her brother got into trouble, and started having children with different women. Heather and her husband decided to care for the first two children to keep them from going into foster care.... Read the rest of the story on the P.S. Blog.

No comments:

Post a Comment

What do you think?