Hannah

As a 27-year old woman who recently got engaged to her live-in partner, I get asked more than ever about whether or not I want to have children (or, more often, when I want to have children). I do not want to have children. I have never wanted to have children, and I doubt that I ever will want to have children. The reasons for this are plentiful, and come from both my gut instinct and a lot of logic and research. I truly believe that having children would not be a good choice for me. The majority of women I know question this; I get the most flack from women around my own age or slightly older who do want children and can’t understand why I don’t. They say “the urge will hit me eventually” or–when I say I’m not a big fan of kids–“when they’re yours you’ll love them.” Who knows, maybe they’re right. But I’m still never having kids of my own. This is an open letter to all the people who can’t understand why an intelligent, loving, functional woman would not have the overwhelming urge to make and raise babies.

1) It’s not just about my job, though I love what I do
I am not a workaholic. I do like my job. I work a 9-5 at a non-profit in Manhattan. I work with awesome people, and I think we do good work. That said, it is definitely a 9-5. I leave the minute the clock ...