I am childless by choice and wouldn’t have it any other way. Having children has never been an option. I am single and have been for most of my life. I suppose in a way, I am not an easy person to live with. I have always been quite settled in my ways and unwilling to compromise. I did have a long term relationship once, however, being the contended person that I am, it ended eventually.
My take on life is that you cannot paint everyone with the same brush. We are unique and so are attracted to different things. What works for one person will not necessarily work for another. To think that we should all aspire to have a family is not only wrong, it also takes away the uniqueness of each individual.
Now that I am retired, I fill my time with hobbies and helping out in the community. I am fairly busy most of the time and enjoying my life. I am quite headstrong and so no one bothers asking me questions about my life choices and frankly, it is none of their business anyway.
Would I choose a different path if I had the chance to start my life all over again? Absolutely not. The tragedy for me would have been to try and fit in with the rest of society by living a life that does not bring me the kind of peace and joy that I feel right now. I suppose you have to know what you want and stick with it and not let people around you make decisions for you. It is your life after all.
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First published on March 22, 2014
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Hi Mai, thanks very much for sharing your story and for inspiring others. I admire your strength of character and your determination to live your life your way. So many people often find it difficult to follow their dream because of pressure from family and friends and so it is rather refreshing to see that you are living life the way you want to. Being childless by choice in a society dominated by the ideal of the nuclear family requires that one has a clear vision of what one wants from life, which you obviously have.
That’s great to hear how you have made your own way in life on your own terms. You sound very strong-minded anyway. However I think it is getting easier as people live all kinds of lifestyle these days, especially if you live in the bigger cities.