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Everyone at one time or another will hit an obstacle in life that becomes an opportunity where a person can grow or degenerate. The only thing to hope for during those pivotal times is perhaps hope itself and, of course, some family support.
At least that is what helped Ayionna West, except with little hope and almost no family to see her through. It is only now that her future seems to be a little brighter as she prepares to graduate and was able to attend her senior prom despite financial difficulties and a teen pregnancy.
West, a resident of the 1800 block of Moore Street, has seen her share of obstacles that have stretched over the past three years with the lack of support from her family after she became pregnant at age 15. The decision on whether to have her baby boy or not, the little financial help from her baby’s father and limited time to dedicate to school were just some of the barriers she has faced.
“At times I was like, ‘Oh God, this is too hard. Why am I going to school? It’s pointless.’ It was a real struggle because I felt like I was doing so much for so little,” the 18-year-old said.
Carrying the responsibility of being a single parent, having a part-time job and being a senior at Center City’s World Communications Charter School has its ups and downs, West said, but a few things kept her going.
“When those sad times came to mind I would think of what I was doing to better my situation. I told myself I was doing positive things and that helped my confidence. I asked myself ‘Why not keep going?’” she said.
Still, her classmates noticed the change in her appearance and attitude this year especially after she found out she was in danger of not graduating on time. With the senior prom in sight, friends realized West avoided talking about prom because she could not afford it. Finally she admitted her reasoning.
“She told us that she wasn’t going because she needed to buy spring clothes for her baby and could not afford to even think about a prom right now,” Olivia Manning, who nominated West along with eight other friends, said in her nomination of West for the “Ultimate Prom Experience” organized by Unity in the Community, which would award one high school senior a night he or she may not have otherwise had equipped with attire, shoes, hair, makeup, prom tickets and chauffeured transportation plus $250 toward books for college.
The arduous road she has been on became a little bit smoother May 4 when Anton Moore, the founder and president of Unity in the Community, surprised West during a school assembly that she had expected to be about prom, but not honoring her praiseworthy struggle. She was speechless when Moore announced that she was chosen as the winner.
“Ayionna’s story caught our attention amongst all of our other entries,” Moore said. “Her courage is breathtaking. A lot of people in her position would have quit or made wrong decisions. And to see her stick with it, it just gives you a heartwarming feeling.”
The smooth ride continued May 20 when she received her wish of attending her senior prom.
West admits that through the good and bad times it was always up to her to make the right decisions — not for herself but for her baby, Daivion, who is now 3. Whether it was a good grade on a test or seeing her boy smiling, the little things she experienced every day were what kept her going.
“I prepared for the worst so everything that has happened I’ve been able to handle the best I can. Right now my life is a little bit more manageable,” West, who hopes to attend Temple University to study computer forensics, said. “I’ve become more responsible obviously with my boy and also I’ve learned how to make better decisions.
“To anybody going through what I went through as a student, I would tell them to stay in school because in the end there are other people depending on you.”
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