Procreation is an animalistic instinct

Starting a family is something that most people around my relatively conservative circle aspired toward since childhood and is what I, admittedly, aspired toward in the early stages of my life. However, circumstances changed whilst I was a medical student around 2014 with my diagnosis of bipolar disorder and the subsequent legalization of gay marriage–among other things. Those events opened the door to a new kind of lifestyle that does not necessarily necessitate having and raising children. 

It’s no secret that the birthrate around the world is currently in decline. Whether or not this is a positive thing for our country and the planet is up for debate. I generally see this as a good thing. For most of human history, it was the norm to pair up in heterosexual relationships and pass on your genes to the next generation. There was this perhaps delusional idea of eternal life through living through your progeny. I think science has since proven that this mode of thinking is not necessarily the most accurate. Whether or not you want to believe in this line of thinking is up to you.

Overall, the urge to procreate is an inherently animalistic instinct in and of itself. Animals in the wilderness, for instance, are wired to want to pass on their genes. Most human beings, especially those that are uneducated (more educated individuals have been shown to have fewer children), basically function in an analogous way within the rules and regulations of civilization. Now, there’s nothing wrong with starting a family, and it is a fact that the continuation of our species depends on it. 

However, for those who find themselves in situations where having kids is no longer realistic, which is more and more young adults nowadays, know that this does not make one any less human. On the contrary, this situation provides the opportunity to become an even more developed person than one’s mating peers. Childlessness presents a unique opportunity to travel, to develop oneself intellectually in ways that otherwise would not be possible. The world is literally your oyster if you can learn to shed that biological instinct and societal expectations.