“Would I, could I soar? Will we fly high above the clouds together someday, little love? Even if just for a bit?”
The voice inside Mariam’s head wondered as she shifted her gaze to her baby girl, kicking her feet in the air with a giggle.
As she prepares for another feeding, Mariam considers this new great love of hers and humbly gives her best afternoon effort to keep her babe happy.
Checking the time, she is reminded that just a few months ago, she was in class with her closest girlfriend in math class. Mariam tries to shoo the memory away as quickly as it comes.
“Will I go back? Could I go back? Who will watch my child?”
Mariam swats away the thought as she considers what it might be like to graduate from high school, or fly her first airplane, or prepare a financial statement for a client. As she ponders what it must be like to be a pilot or an accountant, her baby kicks, and she is greatly reminded of her newest title: mom.
But what came next in the following weeks was unexpected.
An announcement that Mariam had received the Youth For Christ Uganda’s Scholarship for Teen Moms.
As Mariam held her baby in her arms, she thought, “Maybe you and I will soar after all.”
Mariam’s jaw dropped slightly as she burst into a wide smile, baring her straight white teeth.
