Senior Wendor Flomo’s favorite person to hang out with? Her 5-month-old baby boy, Izaiah. After finding out that she was pregnant last year, Flomo faced the difficult decision of whether or not to keep her baby. She originally had her mind set on an abortion but changed it a week before her appointment. "I talked to [Izaiah’s] father, and he convinced me not to," Flomo said. "I considered adoption, but I realized that would just be really hard because you have to look for a stable family, and then it was the whole idea of someone else raising my child, and I wouldn’t have been okay with that." Flomo has no regrets about her decision to keep her baby and tears well up in Flomo’s eyes as she remembers the day Izaiah was born. "I don’t want to sound corny or anything," Flomo said, "but when I had my son, it was honestly like the best day of my life. When he came out and I held him, I just cried, and it’s a feeling you can’t describe." Having a baby in high school hasn’t been easy, however, and Flomo has a lot of things to worry about. She’s working out custody with Izaiah’s father so that he can have visitation rights, but she financially supports Izaiah on her own. Flomo has completely adjusted her life to make her son her number one priority. "You can’t just go out and watch a movie and be spontaneous," Flomo said. "I used to procrastinate, but now I can’t because sometimes [Izaiah] doesn’t want to sleep, and I’m up at 2 typing a paper." Dropping out of school was never an option for Flomo. She’s been busy applying to colleges and scholarship programs and has dreams of going to the Le Courdon Bleu Culinary Arts School in Minnesota and becoming a chef. Much of this is still for Izaiah’s sake. "I have to go to college to support my son," Flomo said. "Statistics show that you do make more money going to college." Many people, however, were still surprised to see Flomo in the halls on the first day of school this year. Flomo brings Izaiah to school with her occasionally and has received unpleasant reactions from people that peer into the little bundle of blankets and are surprised by a cute button nose poking out. "People kind of just give me looks, and teachers have given me dirty looks," Flomo said. "I’m a pretty nice person, and it would feel a lot better if people just asked me about my situation instead of just standing there and whispering something to their friends right in front of me." Flomo is tired of the gossip and rumors about her that have been floating through the school. "I want people to know that it can really happen to anyone," Flomo said. "Don’t make judgments on me, and don’t just see someone in that situation and assume how they are. Don’t just think ‘oh I’m a straight A student and it won’t happen to me.’ I was getting good grades, and I got pregnant."
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Wendor Flomo: big hopes for her little joy
Tanya Liu
•
December 17, 2009
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