A typical day for a teenage girl may consist of going to high school, chatting with friends and maybe catching the latest movie that night with her boyfriend.

But for Angelina Koch, not everyday is the same. Koch’s life took a turn her senior year while attending Antioch Community High School. Today, she is the mother of a baby boy, Easton.

When I found out I was pregnant, I cried. I was speechless.

Thousands of thoughts and questions darted through my mind: college, my career, my relationship. Everything.

Too devastated to function, the father of my son asked me what I wanted to do. But in that moment, all I could do was cry. This was something I definitely didn’t want to go through alone; I needed for him not to leave me. I wiped off my tears and found an OB and made an appointment right away to make sure the baby was healthy.

I kept my discovery away from my parents until I was about six months pregnant.

When I told my stepmother, I did it in public to avoid seeing her furious and hearing her yell. At this point, my heart was pounding. I managed to work up the courage to utter out the truth. After I told her, it was not until I saw her tear up that I much rather have had her yell at me than to her cry.

That evening, she told my father while I was at work.

When I walked inside, I was greeted with a hug from my sobbing father. I knew how much I had hurt him, so I cried with him. I have never felt like such a disappointment to my parents before. Except, they weren’t all that disappointed. They just thought it would never happen to me, but yet again, neither did I.

School turned out to not be as bad as I thought. I was treated pretty fairly. The students were polite as well as the staff. There, of course, were those students who stared, trying to not make it obvious. But I knew, and I kept my head held high. And even when I began to show they remained kind to me. People would put their hands on my stomach in hopes of my baby to kick for them. This never failed to make me smile. I appreciated being surrounded with good people and good friends who were already trying to be apart of my son’s life. Everyone made me feel loved, from the students to the staff. I even developed a special bond with my counselor and gym teachers.

On February 25, 2014, Easton was born.

It was breathtaking. You know, for nine months you contemplate all of these things about your baby. What they are going to look like, who they are going to look like, everything. Well, he was perfect. He was so much more than I could ever imagine or try to imagine.

I knew my whole world has changed. I knew that he was my purpose for living on that day, in that moment. When I held him for the very first time, I promised him to be nothing but the best mom I can be. I promised to make sure he has everything he will ever need.

After a while, my relationship with Easton’s father took a whole 180. I moved in with him so we could co-parent. And to be honest, it was good. Then when Easton arrived, we became slowly irritated at one another, as well as being together all the time. And despite the fact the he would be at work and I eventually got a job, it was still like we never had our own space. And for a 17 and 19 year old, you need your space at times.

Just recently, he and I ended things. Focusing so much on trying to be the best parents for our baby, it was hard to make time for us. Time to actually be a couple. We still talk and keep things civil with one another, but we both agreed that before we can be a true family, we needed to work on our relationship. A family starts with parents.

Being young parents is without a doubt hard. Everything changes, your entire world changes. It’s not easy.

If you or someone you know is currently a pregnant teenager, do not hesitate to talk to an adult—parents, family, teachers, administrators or counselors. Planned Parenthood Helpline is available 24 hours if you are struggling and need to speak to someone. Call  (800) 230-PLAN or (800) 230-7526 reach the hotline. Other organizations offer similar services and can be found by a quick online search.