Because of us.
Even after seeing two blue plus signs on the pee-riddled sticks in the bathroom at Mt. Pleasant High School it was still hard for Sarah Pool to accept that she was carrying her first child at sixteen.
After dating Hurley Israel, Jr., 19, for three months and having unprotected sex, Sarah was faced with society’s pressure on what to do now that she was pregnant.
“My mom, at first was like, ‘well what about abortion’ and I said no, I could never do that. Then she was talking about adoption and I told her I could never do that either, I was just going to keep him,” said Sarah, 17.
The road has not been easy for teen parents Sarah and Hurley. Before welcoming their healthy baby boy into the world they were faced with the difficulties of keeping their relationship together.
“We had our rough spots, because of me, mainly because of me, but we worked through them and we are here today,” said Hurley.
Sarah and Hurley are both currently not attending high school, going to friend’s houses or going to parties like they did before they were parents.
Aside from the having difficulties at school Sarah chose to move out of her mothers house and into her fathers, in Midland, Mich. because her mother, Bentley’s Grandma, was trying to raise him.
"So I moved to midland, well not just because of that, that’s part of the reason. I think it will be easier to do classes online so then I can just stay at home and watch him [Bentley] and don’t have to get talked about at school,” said Sarah.
The choices Sarah and Hurley have made as a couple and the struggles of raising their son Bentley, 3-months-old, as teenagers are common with young parents. They plan to work their problems out and get married in the future.