I’m Not Sure I Want Kids

And That Should Be Okay

Photo by Ben Wicks on Unsplash

Children.

What every woman in America is supposed to want. Parents, other family members, schools, TV, movies. They all hammer it into our skulls.

And many women end up following that script, whether or not it makes them happy.

Except, not all of us want that.

It’s Been Expected of Me Since Childhood

For the longest time, it’s been practically dictated that I’d have kids of my own. For most of it, I was trained to think that’s what I wanted.

In my first round of online dating at 21 (and real dating as an adult), I would check to see if they wanted kids and swiped left if they didn’t because of future planning.

I realize now how much I was jumping the gun there. But I didn’t know any better then.

It May Not Be What I Want

Photo by Kai Pilger on Unsplash

It had been something I’d been thinking about for over a year, but I didn’t fully acknowledge it until my ex-partner broke up with me.