It seems as if in today’s society, you have to have the same opinion as everyone else around you. You must act the exact same way as the people you choose to surround yourself with. You are not allowed to think differently than the ones you hold close to you.

I’ll let you in on a secret: that’s not true. It seems as if having an opinion that is considered different, is a crime. Go ahead, put me away because I seem to hold a lot of different opinions than my friends and family, but that’s perfectly fine.

One major thing we can never seem to agree on is the fact that I don’t want kids.

“You’d be a great mother, though!”

I know, but that doesn’t mean I want to be one.

“Surely you’ll change your mind one day.”

This statement is the most annoying.

“Why wouldn’t you want to give your parents grandchildren?”

I’ve got a brother for that. He seems like the family type.

“Don’t you want little versions of you running around the house one day?”

Oh my gosh, NO.

I get comments like these constantly when the subject is brought up. Quite frankly I don’t even know why it’s even being brought up, considering I am only 19 years old. I shouldn’t be thinking about kids right now anyway. This time I’m in right now is all about me, and I’m not afraid to admit that.

That last question on that list is my favorite, because I would honestly hate to have a little me running around the house. I was a horrible, loud, obnoxious, screaming child who made my parents lives a living Hell for years. They say I’m alright now, but I still wouldn’t want to go through all those years of having a crazy child like myself. At least I was cute? My mom admitted she didn’t want kids at all, but my brother and I happened anyway. She then also admitted to me that we we’re the best things to ever happen to her, but surely she’ll deny it. *wink-wink*

I feel like having kids is an expected thing for women to want to do, but not all of us want to have them. Someone told me the other day, “But think about the feeling you’d have after carrying them around for nine months, and then finally holding them in your arms? Wouldn’t that change how you feel?” That’s another thing, I’m not a patient person. I don’t feel like carrying around another human being in my belly for nine months, and then going through those excruciating hours of labor. Not my thing. I’ve had countless amounts of broken bones. Therefore I don’t like pain, pain doesn't like me, so pain and I are not friends. Plus, there are the mandatory 18 years after those nine months. Once again, if I ended up with a child like myself, I would not want to go through those 18 years.

Then there is the aspect of loneliness. People think because I don’t want to have kids, that I will be lonely for the rest of my life. They often tell me things along the lines of, “You’ll never find a man who doesn't eventually want children.” First of all, my parents taught me that I need to grow up and learn to be self sufficient, learn to depend on myself. So really, I don’t ‘need a man’ to live life with. One would be great to have, don’t get me wrong. But they’ll either have to accept the fact that I don’t wish to have kids, or leave. And number two, I plan to have lots of dogs around the house, so there is no chance I could be lonely.

“Surely you’ll change your mind one day.” Let’s come back to this statement here, because it seems to get under my skin very easily. Even if I do choose to change my mind, which I have no idea if it will or not because I’m pretty hard headed, it would be because of me. Nobody that sits in front of me and lectures me about how it is so important for me to have children, is going to be the one to do it. You all just keep talking but never realize I’m totally not listening. Adoption would be my go to. My theory is why bring someone else into the world while there’s someone already out here that actually really needs me? So maybe this sentence does have a little truth, but I won’t know until a couple years down the line.

It’s not my job to have kids. My job will be my actual real life job, and not to be a stay at home mother (I am not saying being a stay at home mother is a bad thing). It’s not my responsibility as a woman to have kids. Sure, I was given a gift being born a woman that I can make more people to walk this Earth, but I don’t want that.

Here's a pro tip for life; learn to respect women like me, who feel the same way, and people with different views and ideas than you in general. It’s my body, my choice, and I don’t choose kids. Kids aren't my thing the way mornings aren't your thing. And plus, the idea of having kids seems a lot more appealing than actually having them.