I have no regrets about not following the advice I have been given countless times, even by people who were simply being nosy.
A guy I don't know very well, who came to my house just to fix something related to the internet, was surprised to find out that I currently live alone and don't have children. He advised me to have a child before I couldn't anymore and to find a husband so I wouldn't be alone...
Oh my goodness, how dare you assume how other people feel and what desires they may or may not have.
This abusive guy hasn't been the only person who has come up with such ideas about how life should be. Even my own mother has insisted more than once that I “should have at least one child.” Oh dear, as if it were a pair of shoes, have at least one pair of shoes... There's no comparison, right? Having children is a pretty serious matter.
A friend, who is no longer such a close friend felt so happy and fulfilled after having her daughter that she advised me more than once that I should also have a child to feel fulfilled as a woman, in her words.
She was so insistent that she even offered to help me with some things if I got pregnant. She said things like, “I'll come help you clean the house because you probably won't feel like doing anything,” and blah blah blah...
For me, it's simple: I didn't want to have children, I don't want to have children, I don't dream of having children. I still have existential issues trying to recognize myself in terms of who I am as a human being in the purest sense of the word and its most real and true meaning, as to bring someone into the world for whom I would be responsible and, on top of that, have to insert them into a society in which I don't believe.
Have children? That's fine for those who truly want to and take on the role of mother, or father, with all the responsibility, love, and commitment that it entails, or should entail.
But telling me this would be bad advice, mainly because it is something I do not wish for, plus other reasons that are not relevant now but still important to me.
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This writing is inspired by @galenkp's proposal for this weekend.
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Thank you for joining me. I wish you good health and a dignified life.