Having children: I’ll be the first person to say that my biggest excitement that I see for my future is to have children and be a mother, but the choice of not having children that some people make is just as valid. Understanding that a lot of people just don’t want to bring another child into this corrupt world, want to have the freedom to do what they want to do with their lives, and just don’t want kids in general is beyond some people’s comprehension. The choice of not having children isn’t “selfish” or “against humanity” in any way, shape, or form. Our population is not going to go extinct because someone doesn’t choose to reproduce, and although your evolutionist’s perspective of the world says that the reason we were put on this earth was for the purpose of reproduction, you should try and think about the world a little more realistically. Maybe some people were put on the Earth to make a bigger difference, one that maybe they wouldn’t have been able to achieve with a baby on their hip.
Your appearance: Another topic that older generations just can’t seem to understand is why anyone would want to look completely different than everyone else. “You have tattoos, piercings, blue hair?! You cannot be an upstanding citizen, and no, you will not be employed by our company!” If you aren’t a 5’6” blonde bombshell with an acne-free face and the most modern clothes then something must be wrong with you. Yes I’m being a bit dramatic, but you get my point. Straying away from the cookie cutter look that society has written for us seems to be one of the biggest acts of rebellion you can accomplish.
Your interests and hobbies: If you’re a boy and choose gymnastics over baseball, or a girl and choose football over ballet, you must have some internal issues that need to be worked out, says society. People can’t get past the fact that your gender doesn’t determine your hobbies or interests. Boys can’t like art more than sports without being gay, and girls can’t like wearing baseball caps more than makeup without being looked down upon. As long as you’re doing what you love and what makes you happy, what else matters at the end of the day? Do you.
So the moral of the story is that this so-called story is your life. You only get one of them, so who’s to tell you how to live it? Love who you love, but realize it’s okay if you don’t want to love. Do what you love, and don’t let other people’s expectations dictate what that is. Go where you want, even if it means giving up leisures that you don’t deem important that most people see as valuable. As cliche as it may sound, play life by ear. You don’t have to plan ahead because life always seems to get in the way of our predetermined plans for ourselves anyways. Do your best, but never see yourself lesser if you can’t achieve the highest honor. At the end of the day, all that matters is your happiness and the good you bring to the world. No matter how you choose to do that. As Kacey Musgraves would say, “follow your arrow wherever it points.”
