Well the wedding bells are ringing! And so are the bells of reality…

Jacob proposes to Jessie, as requested by Lupe.  Both Jessie and Jacob seem a bit unsure of the marriage but they think it is best for their child.  After seeing the proposal, Maya hangs up her apron at the restaurant for the final time.  She thanks Jacob’s father for all that he’s done for her, but he says that she has done more for him than she could ever imagine.  If it wasn’t for Maya, they wouldn’t have the restaurant anymore.  It’s hard for her to go, but it’s  for the best.  Jacob is also giving up something that is hard to see go.  He has to give up his scholarship to play football to stay in LA to care for Jessie and the baby.  As his mentor tells him, he is passing up on a huge opportunity.  Here’s a reality check, when you get pregnant (or get someone pregnant) at a young age, you have to give up on a lot of great opportunities.  Ever think of what you’d have to give up if you got pregnant?

Soli talks to Jessie about why she didn’t tell her she had sex with Jacob.  If Soli knew, she would have helped her get Plan B, a kind of emergency contraception.  Jessie thinks it is the same as the abortion pill but Soli explains how it’s different. You take it within 3 days after having sex and it prevents an egg from fertilizing. Soli says it’s easy to get if you are over 17 because you don’t need a prescription, but because of recent court decisions, that has all changed.  As of August 1^st, you can get Plan B without a prescription, regardless of your age, from the shelves of your local pharmacy.  But Plan B is just that – a backup plan.  You should always think about protection BEFORE you have sex.

Maya meets up with an old friend, Didi, on the streets after the proposal.  Didi says she could get her a job out in Hollywood if she needed one.  And when Jessie and Maya get in a huge argument about Jacob, Maya packs up and meets Didi in Hollywood.  Maya is now employed as a waitress at a strip club and unfortunately resorts back to her old ways of using drugs.

Jacob is struggling with all that he has to give up to become a young father.  He tells his dad he knows he messed up, but he doesn’t have to ruin his whole life by marrying someone he doesn’t love and giving up on someone who he does love.  His father then says something very true and very powerful: a child is for the rest of your life! It doesn’t end at any point.  Once that child is born, you are a parent forever.  Jessie is also struggling with the idea that she won’t be able to finish her education and go on to get her teaching degree like she’d planned.  At the college fair, she finds out she could get her degree in four years, but Paulie quickly puts a reality check on that.  With a child at home, Paulie says, it is going to be more like 12 years before she gets her degree.  Jacob and Jessie talk about how they may have to give up on their previous dreams but they can make new ones together.  He then suggests that Jessie take Maya’s position at the restaurant.

I hope that you can see through Ceci and Jessie’s story that teen pregnancy is difficult no matter what situation you’re in.  If you are having sex, you MUST use protection, EVERY SINGLE TIME.  To find out what is the right method for you, check out Stayteen’s birth control explorer.

Raised just outside of New York City, Alanna is a rising junior at the University of Maryland, College Park majoring in Behavioral and Community Health and minoring in Human Development.  She loves playing tennis, dancing, cooking, being involved in her sorority, being a tour guide on campus, and doing anything else that makes her laugh. Send Alanna an email!