I was reading a poem titled "Life Cycle" the other day and it was about the state of our youth and how they got there. The poem also shed light on the fact that we will continue to repeat ourselves if someone does not make a change. You have young men having babies my several young girls and of course he's not taking care of them either because he can't because he is still a child himself and there is not much he can do or simply because he does not want to. So, from very young ages these abandoned young women must quit school( some who have not made it to high school yet) and rely on public assistance to raise their children. As a result of starting parenting at such a young age and not being well equipped to do the job most young mothers fail. Then there are those that don't even try because they are too young to grasp the responsibility and/or because they do not have the strength to do it alone. So what happens to the children? They either get tossed into a corrupt system or grow up in an unstable home with a teen parent. Which ever path, most of the times these children will end up repeating the same steps that they parents made. Truth is that most teen pregnancies are partly due to the relationship they have with their parents or lack there of. And 9 times out 10 those parents were most likely born to teenage parents themselves. Being a parent is a difficult task; nevertheless, when you try tro be a parent before you have completely grown up and learned your own life lessons you are setting yourself up to fail and your seed as well. However, when teen pregnancy becomes a family tradition, it becomes difficult to place blame. This behavior pattern seems to cccur more within African-American homes and if we were to place blame it would be on the slave owners and masters. They took young black girls from the arms of the crying parents and had their way with them. The only happiness these confused young girls would get was when they bore the seeds of these evil men. They assumed that they would be set free or at least receive special treatment. Nonetheless, the happiness was shattered when their children were named,listed, and treated as any other slave. In these situations the responsibility of the child was left on the mother and most of the time the grandparents. If they were around, because families were split apart everyday as members were traded off like cattle and jewels, but worst. If the young woman was in a relationship that man would assume the role as father but at times it was difficult to care for a child that you knew wasn't yours, was half white, the product of rape, and the seed of the man that kept you in bondage. With these major issues alot of man struggled with being a good father and since you could get killed for running away most of them withdrew emotionally from the child's life. Although, this may be apart of your past, maybe your father wasn't there to help raise you, or maybe you and your mother grew up together it is still no excuse for continuing the tradition. Each generation is supposed to better than the next but if no one makes a change to break the cycle then the future generations will be destroyed. IIf you know how it feels to be the product of a young immature mother and an absente father why would you put your child in that position. You should want more for your child and you can not provide much if you are still a child yourself. Instead of changing our ways we just make excuses for our behavior. You can blame yours parents, soceity, yours boyfriend, and even your child but there comes a time when you must except some responsiblity. After excepting responsibility the next step is to recognize your flaws and realize that you need to change. Most of the time when it comes to major life changes it is difficult to do embark on those alone so if you are truly serious about making a better life for you and your child then there are organizations that offer the assistance you need. So there is no excuse. In order to ensure a better life for you children and for future generations you must take action. The choice is yours and you have the power. Please don't sit back and and allow this oppurtunity to better yourself just pass you by. You can be the hero of your family for years to come.  Tradition is wonderdul; however, some traditions should be broken.