I walked a different path. Not loudly. Not to prove anything. Just to breathe—to build a life that felt like mine.
I left NYC for San Diego—trading subway noise for ocean air, craving space, solitude, and something entirely my own. I lived a block from the bay and two from the beach—a time defined by independence, new friendships, and the energy of freedom.
I worked, but filled my days and nights with a kind of vibrant autonomy—exploring art, dance, photography, and creative writing. I was drawn to New Age ideas. There was a lightness then—a sense that anything was possible.
By 23, I chose a relationship with someone who was attuned to me—who saw me. He taught me how to drive and encouraged me to finish my degree—a vision I hadn’t fully allowed myself to imagine. Education wasn’t framed as a priority growing up, but it became a piece of my freedom. I didn’t inherit it—I earned it, pieced together through full-time jobs and quiet determination.
He was fun, funny, and kind. He offered me a sense of family—seven siblings, always something going on. His mom even adopted me in a way; I lived in her home while finishing college. There was safety there. Familiar chaos. A kind of love I hadn’t known.
I remember my father was pleased for me. For a while, it felt like the kind of love I could grow within. But I couldn’t step into a deeper commitment. I hadn’t yet learned how to trust love that felt safe.
In my 30s, I fell for a whirlwind romance that left me emotionally drained.
He had pursued me.
I had left my career to support his, relocating us to San Francisco. He became caught up in his new career and, I suspected, a new love interest. I remember being in our new place—dinner on the stove, martini in hand—waiting for him to come home. The irony isn’t lost on me.
I left with just my futon, leaving behind all the furnishings I’d bought. It was a lesson I didn’t forget: never lose yourself for someone else’s dream.
Not long after, I met someone kind, nurturing, emotionally present. He was steady, open-hearted—a safe place to land. We could talk for hours. But the timing was off. He jokingly called me Chicken Little—”high highs and low lows,” which captured where I was—on edge, hyper-vigilant, still wired for survival, not ease.
Other dynamics mirrored old wounds I needed to work through.
In my late 30s, I was with someone who was intelligent and spoke my emotional language—we bonded in our wounds. He was flawed—a tortured soul I couldn’t rescue.
Loving him felt like trying to rescue the child in me who hurt.
The idea of having children faded—not with resistance, but with time.
I didn’t fall into a childfree life—I walked toward it, even if gently. I saw early on that motherhood wasn’t always a fulfilling path—especially for women who carried more than their share.
What was framed as a natural next step—get married, have kids, give yourself away—never felt like freedom to me. It felt like a life designed for someone else.
Society—shaped by culture, religion, and politics—has a way of placing women into neat little boxes, with marriage and motherhood often seen as the pinnacle of purpose and fulfillment. If you’re childfree, people tend to fill in the blanks with their own assumptions—it’s either a tragedy or a selfish choice.
What they don’t always see is the richness—a life shaped by another path. Mine wasn’t empty. It was full—of learning, growth, travel, expression, possibility. I never felt I lacked purpose.
But I did grow tired of having to justify my choices.
It wasn’t a dramatic decision—not a stand against anything. It was a truth that revealed itself slowly, as I came to understand the cost of following someone else’s path while I was still trying to heal—trying to fill a cup I hadn’t yet filled for myself.
By 40, that blueprint no longer held influence over me.
I shaped a different kind of life—one that grounded me in small rituals and gave me space to breathe. I had a career and traveled. I went on weekend spiritual retreats. I created rituals of my own—9am yoga on Saturdays, weekend farmers markets, brunch in the city with friends. I dated myself, in a sense—through rhythm, learning, solitude, and exploration.
I didn’t close a door. I simply chose another room.
By my mid-40s, I met the man who would become my husband. By then, I was no longer seeking external validation, roles, or traditional paths. I had a demanding career and traveled often for work. We had an instant connection and quickly fell into a life of movement—travel, social events, always something going on.
He had two children. I stepped into a preexisting biological unit—one with its own rhythms, loyalties, and history. It wasn’t easy to find where I fit, or if I ever really would. It wasn’t designed to include me.
Becoming part of his world—his circle of friends and family—only deepened my awareness of how far outside the traditional narrative I really lived.
It gave shape to a quiet truth I already knew: some of us are meant to carry a different blueprint—and that difference feels sharpest in spaces where sameness is the unspoken norm.
It wasn’t a loud act of rebellion. It wasn’t even fully articulated at the time. But deep down, I knew I was preserving something: my sense of self. My independence. My right to exist outside the roles that had swallowed so many women before me.
I never set out to be childfree as a mission or a statement. I simply chose not to step into something that never felt like mine. By not choosing, I made a choice.
And over time, that choice became a life. A rich, layered life shaped by freedom, growth, and learning to trust myself.
I became the mother I never had—but it took years of unlearning and repair.
I’ve broken patterns that ran deep. I’ve held truth without flinching, and I’ve stopped apologizing for needing something different.
My wounds were invisible.
The criticism—loud, relentless, and rooted in etched expectations of what a woman should be. But I was already in a battle—for my own well-being, my own truth.
I didn’t fight back the way they wanted.
I fought for myself—in quieter ways. Ways that didn’t need applause.
I chose my path. On my terms.
This life I’ve built—a quiet rebellion—is a blueprint that is mine.
The beauty of life isn’t in how closely it follows the script. It’s in how you make it your own.
Related Life’ing Stories:
Childfree: A Quiet Rebellion→
To You: My Mother, The Person →
Want to explore how generational trauma is carried—and healed?
Breaking the Cycle: How to Recognize and Heal Generational Trauma →
