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Brittany O'Daniel wasn't prepared to find out she was pregnant. She was even less prepared for the reactions that would follow.

The 17-year-old had gone to the doctor for a routine checkup and learned that she was pregnant. She cried in the doctor's office, scared and happy at the same time.

When she finally worked up the courage to tell her family that she was pregnant, a full month later, she was surprised and hurt when they refused to believe her.

Once they were convinced, some family members urged Brittany to have an abortion. Worst of all, the father of her baby abandoned her when he heard the news.

She had met Gary Bryant in the eighth grade. She and Gary, whom everyone calls "Bookie," had been together on and off for three years since then. Bookie denied the child was his and began dating
Brittany's best friend instead.

But Brittany soon discovered that she would not be alone. Bookie's sister, Christy Bryant, 23, had also learned she was pregnant, and the pair formed a strong friendship over the next nine months.

They even had a joint baby shower.

At Graham High School, pregnant girls walking through the halls were an ordinary sight, and all of Brittany's friends wanted to feel her stomach.

But when she was outside the school walls, she didn't get the smiles and encouraging words that most pregnant women do. Older women would look at her with disgust and ask her "How old are
you? You're too young to be pregnant."

With her family's help, Brittany bought everything she needed to prepare for the baby. Her grandmother Carolyn took her shopping, and one of her neighbors had her church donate a year's worth of baby clothes.

But Brittany was constantly afraid of the future, of when the baby would arrive and that her days as a mother would begin before she was ready.

"Am I going to change the diaper right?" she would wonder, asking a friend to help her prepare and practice. "You have to teach me how to do stuff."

On Sept. 11, 2006, Brittany gave birth to Cassidy Leeanna Marie with Christy by her side. Bookie and Christy's mother, Mary Bryant, was also there.

As soon as Cassidy's head appeared, Brittany could see the resemblance. "She looks just like her daddy," Brittany said, and started to cry. While Brittany held her baby for the first time, Mary Bryant called her son to tell him that his baby had just been born.

"Who does she look like?" Bookie asked on the phone.

"You, she looks just like you," Mary repeated, over and over.

Brittany joined the Adolescent Parenting Program about a year ago, when Melita Quick was coordinator. Brittany met with Quick once a month at school and also attended group activities with other pregnant teens.

Brittany says getting together and talking about parenthood has helped her a great deal. She feels like she has changed immensely since becoming a mother, and says she can motivate other people in her group through the good example she has set through her life changes.

"I might not be as financially stable as an older mom would be, but I still have it under control," Brittany says. "Just because we're teens doesn't mean we're less responsible. I think once you have a baby, everything comes natural."

Shortly after Cassidy was born, Bookie decided to claim her as his daughter, and
Brittany and Bookie became engaged in July. The three now live together at his
mother's house in Graham.

Brittany is working at Taco Bell but plans to return to school this fall to finish her
senior year of high school.

After she graduates, she's considering going to Alamance Community College to become a certified nursing assistant or joining the Army National Guard. Her biggest dream is to one day buy a house.
She feels Cassidy changed her life for the better.

"If I didn't have her, I don't know where I'd be," Brittany says. "I would have probably quit school. I just make better decisions now. I don't want her to have a childhood like I did."