Dreaming of being a mommy one day was something I would do very often as a child. I had the baby dolls, fake kitchen sets, and plastic high heels that gave me a sense of excitement to grow up and do all the things that grown-ups got to do. I couldn’t wait to drive, eat junk food for breakfast, and do whatever I wanted.

Ironically, I look back at that time now and I desperately wish I could go back. My innocence was golden and I had no idea how gruesome the real world was and how hard life could actually be for me.

School shootings are becoming a normal thing, racism still exists and will probably never go away, and the value of the dollar continues to decrease. It’s a scary thought to know that my potential child will have danger lingering behind every corner, even in the classroom, and there’s nothing I can do to ultimately protect them.

My president is a rapist and my nation’s law system can murder me just because I am black. I am powerless in this destructive society that is run by criminals, or capitalists as some people may call them. This is not a safe world I live in and it brings me great fear to bring an innocent child into a world that does not look out for them.

Our society has achieved great social barriers over the decades but there is still a lot of progress to be made. I dream of a day where everyone can access affordable healthcare and every child in America can get the chance to receive an equal and good education. These seem like basic and idealistic goals but the matter of the fact is they are not.

There are children struggling in their academics simply because their school can't afford enough textbooks and other materials needed to help them learn. Veterans who risked their lives for their country are sleeping on sidewalks and eating out of garbage cans.

As economically advanced as this country is there is no excuse for why these things are the way they are. People who are in power are failing all of us and the great amount of change that needs to be made is being ignored. It is sick and twisted.

I am pursuing a higher education while simultaneously gaining debt. Male legislators are dictating what I can and can not do with my female body. Healthcare is necessary for every human being but it is deemed as a luxury in today’s economy.

The irony of it all is clear as day; if you are not a wealthy white straight male, the world is not made for you. So, until the day I can conceive a baby who will be a white straight male, I will continue to be afraid of having children.

I struggle every day being a black female and I am very well aware that this world is not made for me. Even with these struggles though, I will continue to succeed and progress and achieve great things no matter what stipulations and stereotypes I am faced with.

I hope that every other person who is also faced with negative stereotypes, prejudices, and unfair treatments just because of who they are finds the strength within themselves to prevail and help change the world for a better future. With a better world comes a better place to raise our children.