She is eighteen. I can't answer these questions. Next to Netta is Melissa. Also eighteen, Melissa already has two children and is only several months away from giving birth to her third. I love Melissa and her son and daughter are adorable, but this aspect of the culture here, the extremely common and socially accepted young age of motherhood, is difficult for me to accept.
Life goes on with surprisingly little disruption.
No one seems to think about what these girls are giving up. I think about all this as I stand in our circle. I look around at the faces of my teammates, Melissa and Netta, James and Debo, Tyeisha and Diya, Joel, Stephan, Leah, and Alison, and I realize that I am part of a family. I came to City Year to commit myself to service, to devote myself to helping people, and to a certain extent, I have. We serve people every day.