Hmmm, this is a toughie AutumnRose.
I work with young people aged 10-18, and the majority are around 15. We spend most of our time trying to stop them getting pregnant, or getting a girl pregnant/ convincing them planned babies are not a good idea at that age (and this has happened in the last two weeks). The 14 YO boy in my home says that he and his 14YO gf are gutted she is not pregnant and are now going to be trying. Both are in care, but the girl sees her mum at wkends (who incidentally supports them and says she will help them). Luckily, the girl is on the depo... for now.
That kind of thing saddens me, and I don't think mid teens should be PLANNING to become parents.
HOWEVER, I don't think you are a mid teen? I couldn't see from your profile how old you are. I have been broody pretty much non-stop since I was 17/18. When I met my now husband, we both knew we would be together always and wanted to have children together. I also was conscious that I wanted to go off to uni, train as a teacher, try out different jobs before deciding which one was for me, before bringing a baby into the world. I now know my heart lies in childcare - I'm just baby mad! I am going back to nannying and we are TTC. I am 26 in October. I always knew I wanted to have two babies by the time I was 30, and around 26 is the perfect age to me.
I say all that, but everyone is different. Socially, teenagers are considered too young to have children. I think it is important that people should have some grounding, have lived a little, know what they want from life, have a safe, stable environment for a child and can provide for all of its needs. Age doesn't come into that at all. Biologically, we are programmed to have done our child-bearing by the time we are 21, when we stop growing and maturing and cells slowly begin to die and decline. It is a social phenomenon, not a biological one, that means women now wait until their 30s for babies. The feminist movement has a lot to answer for on that score.
Just because other women are feisty go-getters and wouldn't dream of being parents until they are 40, we don't all have to follow suit. There is a lot to be said for being younger, and a lot to be said for being older. Swings and roundabouts. I am kind of ambitious, but I won't feel pressured to do a certain job for a certain number of years and a certain salary, just because society thinks I should.
My advice would be that if you have a yearning to travel, do it before babies. You can still do it with babies, but not in the same way. If you have things you would like to achieve, do it now. You will have to give a lot up when you have a baby - something that really scares me in a way.
If you have a house/home, are in a stable relationship and can provide for a baby, as well as having enough emotional maturity to cope with what parenthood will mean, then go for it and ignore everyone else. Age means nothing. Maturity means everything.