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- My partner and I were juniors in college when we adopted our first child. We weren’t ready to parent, but we had to adjust quickly. (businessinsider.com)
Young Parents on Campus: A Story of Family, Community, and Perseverance
A rock climbing class. A small liberal arts college.
An unexpected phone call. That’s how I, along with my wife, found out our daughter was coming home.
We were college juniors, newlyweds, and suddenly, parents. The adoption process moved faster than anticipated, throwing our carefully laid plans into disarray.
Instead of questioning or wavering, we switched into high gear, preparing for our daughter’s arrival.
Our lives transformed overnight. We moved off campus, furnished an apartment, rearranged our schedules, and broke the news to our families (not necessarily in that order). It was a whirlwind, a mix of stress and excitement, but ultimately a period of immense growth.
Becoming instant parents meant trading one peer group for another. Our connections with other young couples faded, replaced by deeper relationships with professors who also had young families.
Even today, many of our closest friends are older than us, simply because our children are similar ages. It’s a strange but beautiful consequence of starting a family young.
The challenges were numerous and layered. Balancing academics with the demands of parenting a three-year-old, while also managing the final stages of the adoption process and making ends meet, felt overwhelming.
We were in over our heads, taking it day by day, navigating a new normal. Difficult decisions, like placing our daughter in two preschools to accommodate our class schedules, became commonplace.
The fear of making the wrong choice, of prioritizing ease over what was best for her, was a constant companion.
What kept us afloat was the unwavering support of our college community. Our doctor, lawyer, therapist, babysitters, and friends – all were part of that network. The education I received was valuable, but the sense of community, the mentorship and support we received, is what truly defines my memories of those years.
Those early days were a crash course in parenthood. We made plenty of rookie mistakes, often feeling like kids raising a kid. But those very challenges built a foundation of resilience, resourcefulness, and flexibility.
Today, my wife and I have four children. We look back at our unconventional start to parenthood with gratitude, using the lessons learned to guide us now. It wasn’t easy, but it shaped us into who we are today.