For many girls, one of the scariest things to imagine is getting pregnant before becoming a married adult.

Over time, society has taken on a view that treats the idea of women having children at a young age as taboo. It is ironic that giving life, the most precious and valued thing on this earth, should become one of the greatest misdoings a girl can do, if she does so before society believes she is meant to.

In today’s world, becoming pregnant before reaching an appropriate age can be met with varying reactions of every extreme, from strong support to disownment.

The internal struggle that a girl must face concerning pressures from herself, her family and society must be constraining and overwhelming, mentally, emotionally and physically.

For the girl who thought she was being safe and is against abortion, how will her life change if she becomes pregnant while still in high school?

For the girl whose family thinks she is a virgin, and whose boyfriend doesn’t like condoms, what corners will the expectations of society and family push her into if she becomes pregnant before graduating college?

For the girl who thinks she will never become pregnant before she is “ready,” and would have an abortion if pregnant, how will that decision affect her when she is older and having children? Will she think back to the child she didn’t have?

The individual scenarios are endless and perplexing.

A friend of mine once told me she had experienced the scare of thinking she was pregnant when her period came late. When discussing what she would have done if she were indeed pregnant, she said she would have had a baby, because she is against abortion.

I remember how hearing her tell me this put me in a state of disbelief, and made me imagine the major changes her life would have undergone.

Her parents, who thought she was abstinent, would have been furious. Luckily, they would have most likely given her the support that she needed. Her completion of school would have also been in question. Although she would have been able to continue going to school despite being pregnant, it may not have been as easy while facing the eyes of society and a campus of others her age.

When my friend thought she was pregnant, she suddenly had to think about things that would not normally cross her mind. Simply taking the first step of buying a pregnancy test presented a fearful challenge. Ads that were previously meaningless forced the image of what she might have to experience in front of her. The thought never left her mind.

When a girl first considers the possibility of being pregnant as teenager or college student, the first thing she thinks about is not what her child will turn out to be one, five or 10 years down the line. She thinks about herself, the challenges she will face from family and society and how her life will never be the same.

But for those of us with friends or family who are such a large part of our lives, a world without them is unimaginable. They are the people who can make us grateful for making a decision that might have gone against everyone else’s opinion — a decision that may have caused girls to risk disownment and sacrifice the future they had dreamed.