Ah. Children. Tiny adults. Teacup humans. Ankle-biters. Little dudes.

No matter what you want to call kids, I don’t want them.

In my 20 years alive, I’ve never wanted kids. Even as a kid I would always want to be the “Mimi,” aka the cool aunt, whenever my friends and I would play.

Whenever people would ask me how many kids I wanted while in high school, I would always say that I never wanted to actually HAVE my own kids; but I would be open to adoption.

Then when I was in high school all of my friends would talk about having kids one day, and I realized at 16 years old that I didn’t want kids, at all.

I am selfish.

I want to travel.

I love sleep.

I love alone time.

I’m lazy.

I hate kid’s show opening themes.

I can’t deal with screaming.

I can’t deal with crying.

I am selfish.

I want to be a professional, and not feel guilty about putting my career before my kids.

I just don’t freaking want kids. I just don’t.

I’ve made my decision, and nobody is going to change my mind.

(Except Tom Hiddleston... if Tom Hiddleston wanted me to have his children, I might make an exception.)

Despite my staunchly stubborn stance against having children of my own, I still manage to have people insisting that I’ll “change my mind” when I meet the “right man.”

As if a man is going to change my mind in regards to something that I’ve felt since I was an actual child.

Not only is my decision to not have kids a personal one, it is also a medical one. I have an acute form of Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome, which causes a whole host of problems for me.

One problem is the fact that fertility can be affected by PCOS, and there is a high possibility for loss of pregnancy.

Personally, I have no desire to go through the pain and suffering that so many women go through while on a pregnancy journey with PCOS. The worry and stress that I have an enhanced risk of miscarriage is enough to make me not want to have children.

I feel so terrible for women who have infertility issues and desire children above anything else.

When I am asked if I want kids, I just get annoyed. However, there are so many women that when asked if they want kids, are actively trying to have them and cannot.

A woman’s decision to have or not to have children is a personal one, and it is her’s alone.

Parents make a bigger deal of their children wanting a puppy because of how big of a responsibility it is than they do when discussing having an actual child.

When a kid wants a puppy, their parents sit them down and discuss the ramifications of owning a puppy and how much time and money and effort goes into owning one.

When a woman says she doesn’t want children, those same parents will screech that having a child is the best thing that will ever happen to you because

“YOU ARE WOMAN AND WOMAN MUST HAVE BABY TO BE WOMAN” (not exact words, but basically).

So, if you ever want to ask someone if they want kids, don’t. It is none of your business if someone wants kids or not, and if you do ask and they say no; don’t shame them. It is their decision, not yours.

If you want kids, great! Have as many children as you want and be an incredible parent to those kids.

Just because someone doesn’t want kids doesn’t mean they’re terrible people. It just means they don’t want kids.

Just because I don't want kids doesn't mean that I don't like kids, I love kids.

I just personally don't feel as though I am made to be a mom, but you'd best believe I'll be the world's greatest aunt.

Some women are just not meant to be moms, just like some men aren't meant to be dads.

These choices are made by mature adults who have considered their options so please don't judge women based on their decision to not become moms.

Men aren't judged when they tell the world they don't want to be a dad, so why should it be acceptable for a woman to be judged for having the same feelings?

For some reason, it is deemed acceptable to make women feel as if the only thing they are good for is giving birth to teacup humans, and frankly, that is setting our society back to a time when corsets were the height of fashion.

Your worth is not based on your ability to have children, nor is it based on your decision to have them.

A mother can be a strong business woman that kicks total butt in a conference room, and a childless woman can own a bakery and knit wool socks for kittens.

Your identity as a woman does not revolve around whether or not you decide to grow a human.

So next time you want to criticize a woman for not having kids, check yourself and reevaluate your own self-image.