16 and Pregnant

I confess, one of my guilty pleasures is 16 and Pregnant, and on occasion, Teen Mom. I love watching these girls attempt to balance motherhood and school simultaneously- I desperately want them to succeed and I love watching their balancing act. I love that they know this is tough, yet they persevere and keep at it (well, many of them.)

When I first started school, I was working 40 hours a week and taking one class. That was hard for me at the beginning, but became routine after a couple of classes. It helped that I had taken these classes before, since I had already graduated and was just repeating my cores for med school. I wasn't being challenged in these classes, and studying was simple. I can't imagine how it must feel for those moms doing these classes for the first time, plus having little babies- you have my utmost respect. I started this when my son was in grade school already- I couldn't imagine doing it with a baby.

I am now finding myself overwhelmed not by the material I'm learning, but by the volume of stuff I need to do (hey, it's perfect practice for med school). 18 credits, the mcat, home-life, work, etc. I look at these young girls on tv and think (seriously), "If they can do it, I can do it." Yes, I am drawing inspiration from teenagers on MTV, who'd have thunk it? (I must feel that I have to give the caveat that I understand there is a difference between doing these two things, and doing them well.)

So thank you 16 and Pregnant- if you young kids can do it, I can do it.