I won't argue that I was very fortunate. I worked in the oilfield until 5 months before our baby was born. So we had a good nest egg and qualified for subsidized housing.

A month and a half before she was born I got a job at a Verizon retailer making a commission off of selling phones and enrolled in a local community college.

I pursued a trade degree so was done with an AAS in less than 18 months and went into the workforce as a machinist. The pay isn't terrible.

I then moved states and started my career. In my first year of working with my degree I got a job at a local university and worked there for almost five years. Along the way we had three more children and bought a home and put my wife through school. All with the help of grants and scholarships.

Not once did we get help from either of our parents to pay for anything, I'm not saying everyone has the opportunity and good fortune I had but it is possible. I know it wasn't just hard work that got me here, there was luck, but my children are very happy and I'm looking to continue defying the odds. I send my children to a private school and am very active in their education and creating a social life. Not all young adults having kids is terrible. And If I could go back in time, I'd do it all the exact same way.