I didn't know I was pregnant!

Amanda’s first ‘date’, if you can call it that, was at the age of 16 with some guy she didn’t know and amounted to a bit of backseat fumbling in his vehicle – and the repercussions of that night still haunt her today, to the point where she has sworn off men. But she is still young and recovering from this, as well as other setbacks, and will eventually reclaim her beautiful life.

"I fell pregnant as a result of experimental fumbling in the back seat of some guy's car," confesses Amanda. "I didn't know who he was, and I didn't even know I was pregnant until I started throwing up every morning."

"Afterwards, I tried to find myself a partner - hopefully someone to marry and become a father for my daughter - but I had no luck," sighs Amanda. "The guys were happy to have sex with me, but they were all very shy of making a commitment to a single mom."

"You can't blame them, can you?"

Asked whether she’d like to have a loving relationship with a man and lead a more mainstream life, Amanda recoils. Her early experiences with men have left an indelible black mark on her psyche.

"I haven't dated a guy since I went back to school," says Amanda, "and I have no desire to get involved with any guy, ever again."

"Relationships - like education - are traps," explains Amanda. "They are all show and no substance. They eat up years of your life, promise the world, fill you with unrealistic dreams and then dump you with a lifetime of debt or misery."

Read more about Amanda’s story:

bleak future on welfare

a wasted education?

burdens and blessings

a child raising a child

health problems of welfare moms

Cancerians, motherly types?

abortion or welfare?