Uploaded October 2017 | Updated September 2026, 25 minutes ago
“I’d just turned 19 when I found out I was pregnant, and I remember being in the bathroom and I took the test and I remember it being positive. I remember looking in the mirror and I was like, ‘Okay, I’m gonna fuckin do this.’
Before I had children, I was going out all the time. I was drinking, smoking, doing drugs. The moment I found out I was pregnant, I knew that I had to be an adult and I had to change my ways. A lot of people doubted me.. friends, family, and stuff like that.
The idea of an abortion - I just couldn’t do it, and that’s one of the things that everyone was pressuring me to do at the time. That discussion has burned a lot of bridges. Like, if you’re pro-choice, you should be OK with either outcome. I’m pro-choice. I decided to have children.
I enrolled back into college for business. For some reason, college seems just so much easier this time around than it did without children, and it’s because, again, I have that responsibility.
Being a mom is hard but, so far, it’s just been so beautiful and positive that I really couldn’t imagine doing anything else.”
-- Khadija O., Lives of Women
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Lives of Women
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Facebook: facebook.com/livesofwomen
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Twitter: twitter.com/liveswomen
YouTube: youtube.com/livesofwomen
Copyright 2017 Indigenous Media
indigenousmedia.com
“I’d just turned 19 when I found out I was pregnant, and I remember being in the bathroom and I took the test and I remember it being positive. I remember looking in the mirror and I was like, ‘Okay, I’m gonna fuckin do this.’
Before I had children, I was going out all the time. I was drinking, smoking, doing drugs. The moment I found out I was pregnant, I knew that I had to be an adult and I had to change my ways. A lot of people doubted me.. friends, family, and stuff like that.
The idea of an abortion - I just couldn’t do it, and that’s one of the things that everyone was pressuring me to do at the time. That discussion has burned a lot of bridges. Like, if you’re pro-choice, you should be OK with either outcome. I’m pro-choice. I decided to have children.
I enrolled back into college for business. For some reason, college seems just so much easier this time around than it did without children, and it’s because, again, I have that responsibility.
Being a mom is hard but, so far, it’s just been so beautiful and positive that I really couldn’t imagine doing anything else.”
-- Khadija O., Lives of Women
Want more stories? SUBSCRIBE: bit.ly/LOWsubs
......
Lives of Women
Follow for more stories:
Facebook: facebook.com/livesofwomen
Instagram: instagram.com/livesofwomen
Twitter: twitter.com/liveswomen
YouTube: youtube.com/livesofwomen
Copyright 2017 Indigenous Media
indigenousmedia.com
