Making New Friends

Written by Sheri Smith

Moms by Age - 20something Moms

User Rating: / 3
PoorBest 

When I first became pregnant at 20, life suddenly changed for me. I wasn't just a college sophomore, I was a pregnant college sophomore. Along with the big belly came other big changes in my personal life as well. Many of the friends I spent out late night partying with, forgot about me.

I grew on the defense that everyone who used to be my friend talked about me behind my back. I was facing a new challenge in life that they had yet to experience, and the difference really scared them.

While pregnant, I quit talking to a lot of them. To this day, I suppose I can call them my "Facebook friends," but what does that really mean anyway? After I had my son, I was hell-bent on only hanging out with young moms, because I felt they would be able to relate to me best and my situation. The nasty stares in public when your child is crying, the dumb comments people say about looking to young to be a mom, and everything else you can think of.

For almost two years, I never made friends with a mom older than 25. Those "kinds" of moms to me at the time seemed stable and on their feet with a carrer, and/or a husband who had one. I was still struggling to go to class and so was my husband. It wasn't until my husband and I graduated, I felt more on track with the other moms.

I guess graduating for me was not only a sense of acheivement in my professional life, as well as my personal life. A little over a year ago, I started giving moms older than me and not so 20-something a chance to be my friend. Right now, I mostly hang out with moms closer to 30 and I am so glad I broke that barrier. I now realize that despite all the differences, especially age, we do have one thing in common, that we are mothers that need to stick together.

< Prev		Next >