Assignment Four: Elizabeth Piper

When I was around 10 my sister had a baby. She was my first niece. When I first found out the news I was shocked. My sister wasn't married and she had just begun college. Throughout my life I had always been told that you must be married first before you had kids. That was the traditional and accepted way. However, when my family learned that my sister was pregnant and unmarried they congratulated her and was excited about the baby on the way. I was confused. Why were they so happy when she was clearly not following the traditional path?
I pondered this question for a while and I was still not happy that my sister that I was supposed to look up to made the decision to have a child unmarried. But nine months later we all went to the hospital. I held my niece for the first time and I fell in love. I knew she was a part of the family. From that moment on I knew that no matter what the circumstances if the child will be loved and well taken care of anything is possible and everything will turn out okay.