Gaby Rodriquez had to complete a senior project to graduate from her Washington state high school. In her junior year she comes up with the idea to fake a pregnancy to try and find out what stereotypes pregnant teens face as well as reasons that cause pregnant mothers to drop out of high school. She got permission from her mom and her boyfriend as well as the principal and superintendent of her school district.
This project was going to big, Gaby just didn't realize the impact it would make and how big it would become.
Gaby is all to familiar with teen moms. Her own mother had her first baby when she was 14 in 8th grade. All of her sisters were teen moms and her brothers all impregnated women in their teens. It seemed everyone expected Gaby to get pregnant too, which made this project all the more believable for her. Gaby's project ended up changing her life and the lives of many people who surrounded her. Her senior project made a big impact.
The Pregnancy project details Gaby Rodriquez's life growing up in a big Latino-American family living in a small in Washington. The book covers her decision to fake her pregnancy for her senior project through when she revealed her secret to the world and the huge media hype surrounding her.
As a teacher who has pregnant teens in class as well as teenage mom and dads trying to raise a child while attending school, this story proved to be very valuable. I feel The Pregnancy Project has given me a different perspective on what the pregnant teens go through on a daily basis. I didn't realize all the bullying and emotional abuse they take on when they walk around school. I also gained a better perspective in relation to the father's of these babies and what they go through and the enormous pressure they are under by their peers. I mean I know it is hard to be a pregnant teen but I never really gave much thought to what they go through on a day to day basis or that being a pregnant teen is a isolating experience.
"I felt like a zoo animal" Pg. 130 "I wanted to hide. It was exhausting to feel like people were judging me all day. I went home and cried and wished I never started this project." Pg 131.
My own students will be creating a senior project and I am going to tell then about Gaby and her experience. There is a lifetime movie on her project as well. Wow this girl has guts. Way to go Gaby!
