Balancing school, work, friends and the latest fall lineup is
difficult enough, but try doing it while raising a baby.
That’s just what fourth-year transfer student Veronica
Aguilar is doing: raising a 4-year-old daughter while majoring in
biology, here at UCLA.
Aguilar was faced with the unexpected news that she was pregnant
during her junior year at Garfield High School in East Los
Angeles.
“I was shocked and I hid my pregnancy from my mom for five
months,” she said. “I was really scared, and I
didn’t know what to do.”
Alone and depressed, and her due date arriving quickly, Aguilar
decided to move to another high school, one that supported young
mothers.
During a meeting with a school counselor, five months into her
pregnancy, Aguilar finally told her mother she was having a baby.
Her mother was outraged, and she refused to take Aguilar to church
any longer. Ultimately, it caused Aguilar to give up on her
religion.
When her daughter Leonor was born during the beginning of
Aguilar’s senior year in high school, the situation got
tougher.
She received no support, financial or otherwise, from the
baby’s father (who also fathered two other children). This
forced Aguilar to work 40 hours a week at McDonald’s to
support Leonor. Luckily for Aguilar, she was able to keep living at
home, where she could at least save the money that she would
otherwise have had to pay on rent.
A hectic schedule was typical for Aguilar.
She would wake up at 6:30 a.m. to get the baby and herself ready
for the day, and drop Leonor off at day care before school. After
school, she left Leonor with her grandmother so she could work the
late shift until 2 a.m. On average, Aguilar got about four and a
half hours of sleep a night, only to wake up and repeat the day
over again.
“At the end of my senior year I wasn’t able to be
active in clubs or anything like that because I had to go straight
home or straight to work,” said Aguilar.
As a consequence, her grades began to drop because she
didn’t have enough time to study.
Working full time while attending high school meant spending
every spare minute working or taking care of her daughter. Aguilar
was forced to give up on things most high school students take for
granted, such as hanging out with friends.
“The main thing was I didn’t go out “¦ and I
really did need that. I think in high school you want to go out
with your friends, especially your senior year.”
After graduating from high school, Aguilar attended Trade Tech
Community College where she attended classes for two years, while
working 40 hours a week.
“It was hard and I was working full-time,” said
Aguilar.
Aguilar’s major source of inspiration was her best friend,
who urged her to continue school.
“My best friend (said), “˜keep on going to school
because you’re really smart and I know you can do it. When I
finished high school I thought I wasn’t going to go to
college or nothing because I messed up like everybody else in South
Central, but I saw that I could do it.”
After two years at the community college, Aguilar was accepted
to UCLA, where she is now receiving financial assistance, allowing
her to decrease her work hours.
Today, things are a bit easier now that Leonor spends a majority
of the day at school.
She is currently dating someone she met from a former job, who
she says is very understanding of her situation with her
daughter.
Aguilar explained that it was difficult to meet guys.
“It’s hard because I can’t go out much but
“¦ some guys, I tell them I have a baby and they back off, but
other guys “¦ don’t mind.”
One thing Aguilar certainly does not regret is keeping her
baby.
“I wouldn’t be where I am right now,” she
said. “I was always good in school, but I really matured. I
was like, “˜Now I have a family, how am I going to support
(it)?'”
In the future, Aguilar hopes to attend medical school at
UCLA.
It may mean even more hectic days ahead, but Aguilar certainly
has had practice getting through them.