riverside_copy_of genna interview (mother)_kayla_budziak's stu

The speaker is the child of a teen mom who is 17 years older than them. They have been judged somewhat for having a young mom, but mostly by older people. They didn't think much about their mom's age until someone mistook her for their sister, which bothered them. They have grown more comfortable with their unique family dynamic but used to filter themselves due to judgment from other kids. They do not want to have a child as a teen like their mom did. Their relationship with their mom sometimes feels more like talking to a sister than a parent. How many years older is your mom? 17. Have you ever been judged for being the child of a teen mom? Sort of. I've never been judged too negatively by people my own age. Um, but I guess there is always like a shocked reaction I get out of people just because I don't really know anyone else who can relate to like the same situation. So, I mean, maybe there is a hidden element of judgment. Have you always felt comfortable sharing your mom's age? If not, why? Well, for a good time of my life, I never really thought much about my mother's age. I always knew she was 17 years older than me, but it didn't really occur to me that having a young mom was unusual until maybe around third grade. It was a comment one of my friends had made after a birthday party I went to that caused me to think about my mom's age differently. All the girl had said was that she thought the woman who dropped me off and picked me up was my sister. And at the time, this bothered me because I saw my mom as my mom, not my sister. And I didn't want other people to see her that way. I think now I've grown to be a little bit more comfortable with the fact that everyone has different lives and family dynamics. But when I was little, kids were so judgy and unfiltered with their opinions about having a parent who could be your sibling that I got used to filtering myself. Have you ever felt inclined to also have a child as a teen? No. As living through the effect of my mom having a young, having a kid while you're still a kid is not something I would ever recommend for my, it's not something I would ever want for myself or for anyone else. Do you think your relationship with your mom is different because of your age gap? In some ways, probably. I think that maybe we would get into less arguments and maybe those arguments would be handled differently, like with more maturity because sometimes it feels like I'm talking to a sister and not necessarily my mom.