AT 19, Aiza Minnette Alegre-Tengco shopped compulsively, buying anything she wanted–until she learned that she was pregnant.
Even before she went to the hospital for the test, Tengco had already known that she was pregnant.
“Maybe it is a mother’s instinct to know that there is a child in her womb,” the incoming Journalism senior said. Contrary to other teenagers who face the same fate, Tengco and her childhood sweetheart, Romer, were both excited. However, she was worried of her dad’s reaction.
“But our parents were kind. They accepted it,” she added.
Now she’s extremely thankful that her son, eight-month-old Roz Alexi, has changed her into a better person.
”He taught me how to become more patient and understanding,” said Tengco, now a 21-year-old mother. “I can no longer be the brat I used to be.”
Even if her pregnancy had been plagued with difficulties, such as premature labor, bleeding, and allergy to most anesthetics, Tengco stayed strong for her child. Never at any moment did she contemplate abortion.
“It is an act of cowardice,” Tengco said.
Even with her school work and on-the-job training, she and her husband, whom she married on April 2, 2006, are hands-on parents. Even if she is exhausted with her hectic schedule for the day, she would find the time to take care of her son.
“I may be tired of taking care of him, but when I see him happy to see me, it all goes away,” she said.
As she continues on her journey as a wife, mother and student, Tengco believes that praying is the key.
“I always pray because I want to have a stronger relationship with God now that I have a new life,” she said. Raychel Ria C. Agramon and Rieze Rose T. Calbay
