Children, don't do what I have done...
I've never wanted children. I should point out before we go on that I still don't - this isn't some great expression of broodiness. I am still, as it were, 'childfree'.
A lot of this disinterest in creating little people comes from the percieved loss of freedom. At the moment, if I want to leave my course, take all the money I have, and go to Asia, I can (not quite immediately, because I have a flat, but you know what I mean). Once you have children, you might as well have a fairy following you all the time that turns into a hulking demon every time you try and do anything that may be considered irresponsible, saying "YOU WILL ENCOURAGE YOUR CHILDREN TO DO THE SAME". I am not a particularly sensible person, and I don't think influencing others to do what I do would be beneficial to the world.
A similar amount comes from the fact that I don't want there to be little ones of me, or particularly to carry on my family line; we're all fucked up to the point that forcing more of us into the population seems like some retarded inversion of eugenics. I do not want little ones of me around to screw everything up.
It's struck me that my opinion might change drastically were I to fall in love. There seems to be some beauty in having tangible, walking proof of the love - and that the proof transcends its status as such seems to signify everything to me. That the little'uns will take on parts of the one I love, and that I will have been instrumental in preserving them, seems as though it would be irresistable. The 'best years of your life' are not wasted if they are made real; children are not the only way to do this. But they are perhaps a way.
A lot of this disinterest in creating little people comes from the percieved loss of freedom. At the moment, if I want to leave my course, take all the money I have, and go to Asia, I can (not quite immediately, because I have a flat, but you know what I mean). Once you have children, you might as well have a fairy following you all the time that turns into a hulking demon every time you try and do anything that may be considered irresponsible, saying "YOU WILL ENCOURAGE YOUR CHILDREN TO DO THE SAME". I am not a particularly sensible person, and I don't think influencing others to do what I do would be beneficial to the world.
A similar amount comes from the fact that I don't want there to be little ones of me, or particularly to carry on my family line; we're all fucked up to the point that forcing more of us into the population seems like some retarded inversion of eugenics. I do not want little ones of me around to screw everything up.
It's struck me that my opinion might change drastically were I to fall in love. There seems to be some beauty in having tangible, walking proof of the love - and that the proof transcends its status as such seems to signify everything to me. That the little'uns will take on parts of the one I love, and that I will have been instrumental in preserving them, seems as though it would be irresistable. The 'best years of your life' are not wasted if they are made real; children are not the only way to do this. But they are perhaps a way.