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Macey Brower does all the things. Macey is a full-time student at Grand View University, majoring in graphic design and is passionate about photography. Just this year, she started a photography business after taking pictures of her friends. She soon grew the business to include senior photos, children’s photos and now, wedding photos. Her artistic passions are evident in the art on her body. Most of Macey’s tattoos are an artistic expression with no meaning. However, a few of them symbolize her faith and, most importantly, her child.

Above everything else that she does, Macey is a mom. Being a mom is not an easy task, but being a single mom in school is even harder. Macey takes care of her 2-year-old son, Ledger, while still going to school and working like most people her age.

“I actually chose a job at the daycare that he goes to,” Macey said. “So I get to spend time with him at the daycare.”

Macey works around her classes and then goes home for some one-on-one time with Ledger.

“Everyone says it, it’s so cheesy, but the love that you have for your child is so different than anything else you could ever explain,” Macey said.

Macey found out she was pregnant her senior year of high school, and when she told her parents, they thought she was joking.

“(It was) March 31, and April fools was the next morning, and I thought she was playing an April fool’s joke on me,” Karey Brower, Macey’s mom said. “So, she said, ‘Oh mom, it’s for real.’ … I was in shock.”

Being pregnant at the end of her senior year, Macey met many obstacles .
“We didn’t tell a lot of people to make it as easy as possible for her to get through her senior year and not have all the gossip that can come along with a teenage pregnancy,” Karey said.

After Macey announced her pregnancy, she received an overwhelming response of love and excitement for her.

“Every single one of my friends were so excited, my sisters were so excited,” Macey said.

The support from her friends and family had a huge impact on her ability to focus on finishing high school. Macey’s parents did everything they felt like they could in order to support her though her pregnancy. Karey said that she went to birthing classes with Macey to help coach her and be there for her.

Brower believes her pregnancy was God’s plan for her, and she also believes in the power of prayer from her church that was always praying for her. Ledger was also born on Karey’s birthday, which was another “sign” for the Browers.

Now, Ledger is 2 years old, and Macey is working to give him the best life possible.

“He’s on my mind all the time,” Macey said. “All that I do is for him, truly. It is just so awesome to be able to have something that is so pure and yours and yours forever. It is just beautiful.”

Macey said that she loves being a mom and that it has come very naturally for her.

“It doesn’t feel like a task every day,” Brower said.

After work and school, Macey puts Ledger down for bed and then does homework or edits photographs for her clients.

“I am so proud of her, and I look at where she’s at, and I think I just don’t even know that I could do that,” Karey said.

Karey said Macey has always been a loving and caring person, being the oldest child in her family, and has always played a big role in her little sisters’ lives.

Macey believes that if other single parents are in a situation like hers, it’s important to ask for help.

“Find a support system because there are people that want to be there for you, no matter how awkward or how much of a burden you feel,” Macey said.