This Woman Finished Her Finals While Going Through Labor

Anyone who has ever had to study for and write final exams knows that it's tough, sometimes both emotionally and mentally. But imagine doing all of that while also in labor. That was a reality for one new mom, Nayzia Thomas, who recently posted a photo of herself studying from her hospital bed to Twitter.

"My mom took this pic and it's the perfect explanation of my life," she tweeted. "Yes I'm about to have a baby, but final SZN ain't over yet."

Thomas is a sophomore psychology major at Johnson County Community College in Kansas City, Missouri, Yahoo reports. She was hoping to finish her finals before her baby was born, but life just didn't work out that way. Instead, she continued working on a final project on dissociative identity disorder for her psych class while in labor, even though it wasn't due until later in the week.

"School is so important to me," Thomas told Yahoo. "I didn’t want [the pregnancy] to be in the way. That’s what people expect. You’re a teen mom, you’re a young mother. That’s why my mom took that picture. It shows [I] follow through."

And it worked out. Not only did Thomas get a beautiful baby boy — Anthony Johnson, 6 pounds 15 ounces and 21 inches long — but she also finished the semester with a 3.5 GPA.

Of course, it's important to note that as admirable as it is that Thomas wanted to work on her finals in the hospital, she shouldn't have to. The stereotypes she mentioned about young mothers are very real, but it's time we break them. Because it should be enough for a new parent like Thomas to focus on giving birth without worrying about tests, and if there was ever a time to get an extension on final project, it's when you're in labor.

Still, Thomas tells Refinery29 that she didn't want to finish her semester with an incomplete on her transcript, even if it was only temporary. "My great grandmother passed away my junior year during finals week my junior year in HS and I didn't do very well, so finals season has always struck a nerve," she says. "Secondly, I know all the stereotypes about young parents and I couldn't allow myself to be placed in that box. By any means necessary."