Recently, I read a listed article on Facebook called "9 Brutally Real Reasons Why Millennials Refuse to Have Kids" written by Isabelle Kohn through therooster.com (SHOUTOUT TO YOU GIRL)! It had given reasons why millennials are not having babies. The writer had given great examples and had statistics and everything (YOU GO GIRL!). Some of those were that the world we live in today is straight up spiraling downward, we are selfish and would rather focus on ourselves, societal expectations, some people don't like kids and so on. It was a great article and you can see the effort she really put into it; she had even interviewed other millennials to get her point across. This is not the first time I had heard people talking about this topic. Actually, I had overheard two girls talking about something not mentioned in the article while at school. Not only did I agree with Isabelle but I had also disagreed with her. I was somberly conflicted on the topic and thought maybe I should speak on it as well.

The majority of us here are 20 somethings struggling to get ourselves out of bed in the morning to make it to class or work on time, with the realization that we are not getting any younger. The world has basically slapped us in the face to wake us up to show us the harsh reality of life as we know it. We will be busting our asses until the end of time trying to look ahead to retirement before we are even 5 seconds into our careers. I have noticed, through memes and other forms of social media, that the generations before us have been pointing a finger saying that generations after them are the reason for the turmoil that has become the world that we live in; blaming the millennials for that has gone wrong in the world. But who are you to point your finger in our faces?! Where were you when we were literally fresh out of the womb to stop what had gone down before we could do anything but cry, eat, shit, and sleep?

What I agree with in the above mentioned article:

1. The world does kind of suck.

I get it, I have said it before. The world we are a part of is not like it used to be. I would be constantly worried about my child being out of my sight because of the crazy things I hear of in the news and other credible sources. I couldn't imagine having my son or daughter abducted. I try to block out the fact that I would have to send my son or daughter to a school where someone who is emotionally unstable could come in with a gun, a place where we are supposed to believe is a safe haven for our children. I have said it myself, I would not want to bring up a child in today's society.

2. We are poor.

Two words: STUDENT LOANS! We are constantly stressed about how we are going to get through paying them off (unless you are not in college or you don't have any, then consider yourself lucky). Day after day I spend countless amounts of hours awake in between class, in between work and school, pulling all-nighters trying my hardest to do the best I can do in school to get the paycheck that I deserve, knowing that me being up all night and using make-up to cover the bags under my eyes is not going to be enough. How am I supposed to pay rent, pay for food, my car, phone, credit cards and a baby on top of my student loans?

3. We will ruin them with terrible parenting.

Something that I also had said myself, "Have you met me?!" In this article, I literally LOLed when I saw that I am not the only who had thought this at some point. We are trying to be adults while also asking real adults what we should do next. By this time, we are expected to have found the love of our lives and be thinking about settling down. But here we are, not doing that. How are we supposed to raise another human being if we still don't know who we are?

4. They aren't going to fix anything.

Do you know how many times I have heard of someone having a baby thinking that it is going to keep the person they're with around? PSA: IT WILL NOT! If your "significant other" wants to leave, they will whether you have their child or not. This also ties into what I had heard those two girls at school talking about... A lot of us will be step parents before we have children of our own. The girls were talking about women in particular becoming step mothers, but this is not just about us women, the men in our lives are effected by this as well.

5. SOME PEOPLE JUST DO NOT WANT CHILDREN.

AND THAT IS OK! It was never written in stone that this is what we have to do! Some people go their whole lives knowing that they want to have kids and some people are the polar opposites. Some people say they will never have kids and then they do. Whatever you decide to do is up to you. It is YOUR decision.

What I disagree with though and although it was not mentioned in therooster.com article, not every millennial is against having children. Even though I agreed with some of the things that were mentioned, I do know that regardless of if I am a step mother first, I do want children of my own. I don't know if I will be able to protect my child or children from all the world throws their way, but what first time parent does know what they are capable of? What I do know is that I will do my damnedest to make sure my child/children know they have someone to go to when things get tough, to tell any and everything to, someone who will always be on their side, someone who will love them with every fiber of my being. Hearing the fears and concerns of other people my age makes my decision more clear to me.