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Hello, I am Javiera Arias, and I will open my heart to tell you a very important fragment of my life. I was born in Chile in 2005 and I was the fruit of teenage love. My mother gave birth to me when she was 16 years old, and my father was 20 years old. Despite my young age, I had a very happy and peaceful life, and I did go through ups and downs in my life, but despite every obstacle, I always remained firm and positive.

From a very young age, I assumed responsibilities to help my mother, caring for and taking care of my little sisters, since as a single mother, she had to work long hours to be able to support our home. For as long as I can remember, I always liked going to school and learning new things every day. My favorite subject was always English. It was a language that was very easy and entertaining for me to learn. I even remember in sixth grade entering an extracurricular academy of Spelling Bee, which was fundamental in my learning, and I will always be very grateful for the education that was provided to me throughout my life.

But well, below I will tell the story that I want to share, The most beautiful gift that God gave me. We go back to March 2021, my classes begin in the first year of high school, I was fifteen years old and I did not have a very good relationship with my mother and my stepfather, but I did have a loving relationship that sheltered me from everything that I felt bad and stressed at that moment in my life.

I spent a week feeling discomfort, which I associated with pregnancy symptoms, so I took tests that were positive for pregnancy. For me, it was a shocking experience, since I was using birth control. It was a moment of many emotions, both good and bad, but I felt safe since I had the support of my boyfriend. Still, we had to deal with the reactions of our families and especially our parents because we did not know how Ivan would react and what direction my pregnancy would take.

The same day we found out this news we spoke with her parents, who took it badly but would still support us with everything within their reach. Later that same day I told them to my parents, and they reacted very badly and kicked me out of my house at that difficult moment, where I felt so vulnerable and scared. Even our parents suggested interrupting my pregnancy, but I always felt that I had to take care of them with all my love.

My baby and I would regret for the rest of my life losing the opportunity to see such a pure and innocent baby born, so I followed my instinct and fought for that creature that I had with me, I moved in with my boyfriend, and we went to talk again with my parents and we reached agreements and fixed the situation. So 3 months passed when my stepfather decided to come to the United States, therefore my relationship with my mother improved a lot, and I tried to spend a lot of time with her because I would already know that soon she would also come to the United States and I didn’t feel ready to let her go, I needed her.

I was already 6 months pregnant, I had already found out that my baby would be a girl, and I felt very happy that I would be the mother of a princess. I was still studying, but due to the pandemic, it was online and it was easier for me to complete my classes. I also wanted to do something productive to generate income, so I took a beauty course specializing in eyelashes. Everything was going very well at this stage of my life and together with my boyfriend.

But my mother, who was already emigrating to the United States, I missed her too much, and my sisters too, since they had moved to another city to be with my father, but thank God everything went perfectly with my daughter’s development. At 8 months pregnant, I had my baby shower and had an incredible time. Many gifts arrived for my baby, and I felt the immense affection of my family and the family of my baby’s father.

Little by little, I began to assimilate that I would soon give birth to a baby girl, and it would depend only on me. I was also terrified of the moment of delivery and the pain I would feel, but I was already preparing myself physically and emotionally for the big day. That day arrived on November 17, 2021, my baby arrived at term, and I was staying with my grandmother since my baby’s father was working.

That day at 6 in the morning I began labor and with pain, I went very quickly to the hospital along with my grandparents, and my daughter was born, her name was Alessandra Belen, it was a natural birth and she weighed 9 pounds and was very big, so I suffered complications after she was born, I lost a lot of blood and I felt very weak, I also had a blood transfusion. But the most important thing for me was that my daughter was very healthy and beautiful, and I was alive to be able to take care of her and protect her from everything bad in this world, so I had to be strong and get better as quickly as possible so I could take care of all the needs that a baby has.

We stayed a couple of days in the hospital, monitoring the well-being of both, when we were completely healthy and safe we went home and from there began an adventure full of love, learning, growth, and maturity. The first months of my baby were a dream for me, I felt very happy and complete with her, but on the other hand, I lived a nightmare with my baby’s father, we fought a lot and there was a lot of violence, it was an unstable and toxic relationship, me and my baby, we were always moving with different relatives to try to stay at peace and away from problems.

So I made the decision to leave the country and emigrate to the United States together with my mother, who supported me a lot from afar and advised me that I should try to get a better future for me and my daughter, to which I agreed with great sadness. I didn’t want to repeat what I experienced when I was little, which is growing up without a father. I never thought about it or planned like that but the situation warranted it. I didn’t want to spend the rest of my life living in a place where I felt like I didn’t belong. I have always wanted something great for my life, to stand out and achieve my goals through effort and unfortunately in my country, I was not going to achieve it, since it does not provide the opportunities that the United States does.

It was one of the hardest processes for me, I felt alone and I didn’t know if it was the right decision or what if I would regret it later, but  who doesn’t risk doesn’t win, so I took the risk of leaving behind the small family I had settled, I also had to sell all my belongings and the things in my house, which I had achieved with so much effort, the most difficult thing was to remain silent and keep this secret for myself since the father of my baby and his family did not know what It was about to happen, I know what I did was wrong but if I had said something the plans I had would go up in smoke and I was afraid that something bad could happen to me or that my daughter would be taken away from me.

Finally, on June 5, 2022, I was 16 years old and my daughter was 5 months old, we started the trip, which fortunately was by plane. When we arrived here, the sadness was fading little by little since upon meeting my mother again after one year was the most beautiful and reassuring for me, I realized here that life can be very beautiful and pleasant since it is a country that shows development in all areas, I quickly started school and so did my daughter, I felt very comfortable and happy that I returned to live a stage that I had already said goodbye to, living with my family and that my only concern is going to school.

Since then everything has improved in my life, I live more peacefully and safely, my baby has grown a lot and is now 2 and a half years old, I am 18 years old and the sun has risen for me lately since I received my papers to be legal in the country. After months of uncertainty and worry about not being able to enter a college or obtain my driver’s license because I did not have legal status, they finally arrived and just at the right time, a month before graduating, I have felt very grateful to that everything is going well and little by little I am achieving my goals.

I already have a driver’s license and I have also already entered a college to become a medical assistant and fulfill my dream of entering the medical field. I am also beginning to create my credit so that one day not so far away I can purchase a house in this country, which is one of my long-term goals. Another of my goals, but in this case in the short term, is to acquire a car with which I can get around more easily. But everything is happening step by step, and I feel very satisfied with the changes that my life has made, always trying to ensure that each change will be for the better for me and those around me.

Writing this, I realized everything I have been through in such a short time, and I realize how strong and intelligent I have been at such a young age, since I have made difficult decisions and that has led me to be the person I am today. There is still a long way to go with the hand of my princess, and I hope to be blessed throughout my life and always have a positive thought despite the ups and downs that I may have later. Javiera Arias