Jezaida Rivera tells the stories of three girlfriends who became pregnant as teens. Rayna became pregnant at 15 after she had unprotected sex with her boyfriend, who then abandoned her until she had an abortion; she is now back with the boyfriend. Gloria moved in with her boyfriend at 16 and became pregnant; she gave birth to a girl, left the relationship, and moved back in with her mother, who is helping her raise the child. Alexis wanted to trap a boy named Stephon so badly that she became pregnant by him at 15. Her father made her have an abortion, but by age 20 Alexis had three children by Stephon, as she sometimes forgot to take birth control pills or Stephon neglected to use condoms. Stephon eventually left Alexis, who now lives on public assistance in a housing project down south. Reflecting on her friends’ experiences, Jezaida wants to delay having a child until she is able to provide it with the love and financial support it needs and deserves.

Discussion Questions:

• Of the three stories, which do you relate to most? Why?

• Alexis, who has three children by Stephon, says she forgot to take her birth control pills and he didn’t feel like using condoms. Why do you think they acted that way, especially when they already had children?

• Jezaida says she was influenced by her friends actions to not become pregnant. How have you been influenced, positively or negatively, by the actions of a friend or group of your friends’ actions?

Writing Assignment: Pretend you are Jezaida. Write a short letter to one of her three friends, describing how you feel about the actions the friend has taken and what she can do to help herself in the future.

What could be done to stop the problem of teen pregnancy? List all the ideas you can think of.

Roleplay: Jezaida and Alexis. Alexis has just met Stephon and wants to trap him so badly she’s thinking of having sex with him and becoming pregnant. Jezaida wants Alexis to understand why that may be a poor choice.