A message to teenage mothers

[B]By TERESA KIM-TENORIO[/B] [I]Special to the Saipan Tribune[/I] [I]Editor’s Note: The following is the complete text of the speech that Associate Judge Teresa Kim-Tenorio delivered at her investiture ceremony on Jan. 24, 2014, at the CNMI Supreme Court courtroom.[/I]

Good morning dignitaries, honorable members of the bench, guests, friends, and family. Si yuus ma’ase for your attendance today to share this occasion with my family and myself. I am both humbled and honored to be elevated to the position of associate judge of the CNMI Superior Court.

It was a journey I embarked on on Oct. 3, 2013, with many people guiding me. A journey I would not have been able to take without them:

– Governor Inos: Thank you for nominating me, but most especially thank you for the years of experience you provided me as our lieutenant governor and now our governor. I gained characteristics that I believe will help me not just as a person but as a judge and I learned that from you. You were a true mentor. I will miss the Executive Branch, because I will no longer work under your tutelage. You are a great leader to follow.

– Chairman of the Senate EAGI committee, Sen. Francisco Cruz, and Vice Chairwoman, Sen. Jovita Taimanao, and the members of the Senate: Thank you for your favorable votes and your guidance through the process. Your support was overwhelming. I will not forget that you are the people responsible for putting me here.

– All those who submitted letters favorable for my confirmation and testified on my behalf: I am privileged to have earned your support.

– The CNMI Bar Association: for giving my colleagues the opportunity to evaluate me. It was a critical component of the process so the general public would have confidence in me, knowing my colleagues do as well.

– Judges and justices: Thank you for your words of wisdom and encouragement through the confirmation process, and thank you for welcoming me to the bench; for opening your doors to me and sharing what institutional knowledge you have and experiences you’ve gained.

– My family for carrying me through this process emotionally and spiritually.

This morning, I would like to take a different approach and instead of focusing my remarks on judicial issues, I’d like to address teenage moms who feel they have hit a dead end in the path of life. A message, I hope, inspires them to persevere and strive for success.

It goes without saying that parents hope and pray for the best when it comes to their children. That their kids will turn out to be successful people, well at the minimum, ones who contribute back to society and function well in it. My parents I know held their breaths for a long time. I certainly challenged their authority and went off the beaten path many times growing up.

There is a path to becoming a judge, which includes completing high school, going to college, going to law school, taking the bar exam, being a lawyer, and so on. And I did all that. But before I did all that, I got pregnant at the age of 17 and became a teenage mother. You can imagine what my Asian parents thought, that it was the end of the world. You know what I’m talking about. Others did too. Life was over; I guess that was the message. I was now a mom. An uneducated, unskilled one at that. I’m not sure if I ever accepted that then, but my parents certainly didn’t. They waited for my son to be born, then told me it was time to leave. They wanted me to leave the island, see the world, and get a college education. But clearly it wasn’t that simple. There was now an infant that was part of the equation. I presume this is where the old saying “You made your bed, now lay in it!” comes to play. So along with lots of guts, fear, and prayer, I left for college with my son.

I left and felt as though I cried for the next four years. I cried every time I dropped my son off to day care, because he cried. I cried most nights when I had to stay up late to study because I had to feed my son first, bathe him, and make sure he was in bed and perform all the other motherly duties before I had time to devote to school. I probably cried most because while I was doing this, other college students were partying and truly experiencing the college life. And I cried four years later, when I received my bachelor’s degree. Of course, those were tears of joy, because I was a little more educated and a little more skilled. I felt like life really did not end when I became a teenage mom. I felt stronger. I felt like I could conquer law school. You know the rest.

Here I am today. And I believe today, my parents are no longer holding their breaths. I certainly tested their love and patience. But they never gave up on me. They may be a sighing that sigh of relief today. I am truly blessed to have this particular set of parents. They never gave up on me, continued to be the wind beneath my wings as I tested the waters and their patience and defined who I was and who I wanted to be.

So my message to teenage mothers out there is when you take a wrong turn in life, don’t think you must continue on that path. Even worse, don’t think you are stuck on that path. There is no “right” path or just “one” road to success. There are many paths that only require one thing: determination.

I thank you all again for sharing this moment with me. I thank the two youngest persons in the courtroom, my sons, Pedro and Sunjoon, for being such a great support system for me through this process. I would also like to thank the Lord Almighty for loving me so much. I also thank Him for bringing one special person into my life: my best friend, my biggest fan, and the most encouraging person: my husband, Perry John. Every time I accomplish something, be it big or small, I know Perry John is always so proud of me. Always so selfless. Thank you “asaguahu!”

I wish that my older brother, Hea Joung, and my younger sister, Angela, who cringed every time I broke the rules or maybe secretly smirked and felt relieved that I broke the rules first, could’ve made it out here to be with us. I also wish my two older sons, Air Force Airman Justis Tenorio and Army Specialist Sunho Tenorio, were here. But as I protect the Constitution in my judicial capacity, they are defending it in the most honorable way, by protecting your lives and mine and fighting for our freedom. Thank you both and all our service men and women for your service.

Thank you, si yuus maase, olomwaay.

[I]Teresa Kim-Tenorio is the newest associate judge of the CNMI Superior Court.[/I]