Being a teen mother comes with three common misconceptions: they will not perform well in school, teen moms have ruined their lives forever and teenagers are not fit to be parents, according to Teen Success, Inc. Despite giving birth to her son freshman year, senior Aliana Frary breaks all of these misconceptions.
Frary found out she was pregnant at the beginning of her freshman year after taking an at-home pregnancy test.
“When I found I was pregnant, I was with one of my friends\; it was very very surprising,” Frary said. “Not the greatest feeling in the world, knowing that I was going to be pregnant at the beginning of high school wasn’t a very settling feeling at all.”
40 percent of teen parents graduate high school, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Frary, although faced with an adversary, for example, attending school while pregnant, finished high school.
“I’d say it was kind of embarrassing [attending school while pregnant] but I had to embrace it because it wasn’t going away,” Frary said. “It was hard walking through walking through the halls knowing everyone was looking at me, but I got through it.”
Frary gave birth to her son, Colton Reese Altum, on April 9, 2017. Colton’s third birthday was just recently celebrated. Frary’s son’s father, Chris Altum, and Frary have created a system where they share equal custody of their son.
“We ended up agreeing to have split custody, which is like a two-two schedule,” Frary said. “So I have him a couple of days and he has him a couple of days and we have opposite weekends.”
Sophmore Marah Frary, Aliana’s younger sister, said that the change in their family has been drastic since the introduction of a new baby in the home. Marah explains that they have to watch what they say, wake up earlier in the mornings and get ready for bed earlier so they do not wake him up.
“Our family has changed so much. We have gotten much closer since he has been here, and we try and do as many fun family activities as we can,” Marah said. “He brings so much joy into our home. We want him to know that he always has our family here. We wouldn’t trade him for the world.”
Aliana plans to attend Eric Fisher Academy after graduating this May to get her license in cosmetology. After graduating from cosmetology school, Aliana hopes to open her own salon one day. Even though being a teen mother was not her original plan, she does not regret having her son.
“He [Colton] saved my life, I would say,” Aliana said. “I was going through a rough patch and it made me realize that I had something coming and God had a plan for me.”