Balancing motherhood and studies can be nerve-racking, but for 22-year-old Hanessy Teodoro, being a single mom has inspired her to achieve her life goals.
Teodoro got pregnant at the tender age of 15, but this did not break her spirits. She still pursued her studies and today, she is on the road to graduating with a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Arellano University.
“I was seven months pregnant when they knew about my pregnancy,” she narrated in an interview. “The first reaction was [that] they were really upset and mad at me. But they were able to accept the fact that I am already having a baby at my early age and gave me all the support throughout my pregnancy.”
Teodoro’s touching story posted last week spread like wildfire on Facebook, which now has 124,000 likes and 17, 410 shares as of this writing. She shared how she led a double life as a college student and a single mother to her 6-year-old son, Halssy Jay.
“This is my son, my best friend, and my companion for six years and counting,” she captioned her graduation portrait of her wearing a toga and embracing her son. “Natatandaan ko pa noon, 2 years old kapa lang noon noong pinapaalagaan kita sa iba kasi nga papasok na ko sa school…ang hirap kasi [dahil] nagiging busy na ko…minsan uuwi ako, [natu]tulog ka na (I still remember, you were two years old then when I would ask someone to take care of you because I had to go to school. It was difficult because I was becoming busy. Sometimes when I arrived home, you were already asleep).”
Her story is a vivid proof that teenage pregnancy may not hamper a woman’s ambition in life. “Siguro nga binigay ka sakin ni God para maging kakampi ko sa lahat ng bagay (Perhaps God gave you to me to be my ally in everything),” she wrote. “Sabi nga nung iba, hindi daw ako makakapagtapos kasi nga may anak na ko. Pero ito na ko, naka suot ng itim na toga at karga ang pinakamamahal kong anak (Some people said that I could never finish my studies because I have already a child. But here I am, wearing a black toga and carrying my beloved child).”
She elucidated, “Proud ako kasi may anak akong anim na taong gulang na, pareho kaming pumapasok sa school para maabot ang tagumpay (I’m proud because I have a son who’s now six years old [and] we both go to school to attain success).”
When asked about the netizens’ warm reception to her viral post, she said, “I wasn’t expecting that it will go that far. It was just a normal post, changing my display photo and putting some caption on it on how my college life was with my son.” Gianna Francesca Catolico /ra
