Question for the Females?

Question:

Question for the Females?

I am 15 years old, and I am just beginning to "discover" who I am and what I will be. Every woman/girl tells me that I'll succumb and marry somebody and have children, but I really don't want to. I believe that a woman does not have to "prove herself" by getting married of being seen hanging on a man's arm. A woman can be as independent, strong, and adventurous as she is capable of being. Please, am I alone in this mindset?? Please do not get me wrong and think that I am a feminist! If a girl honesetly loves a man, then she can marry him - I just don't believe that a girl "should/is expected to" marry.

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker:

No, of course you're not alone in feeling that way. Just look around you--there are many successful, professional women who are strong and independent, and may or may not be married.

I'm sorry that your friends and family have apparently presented it as an either/or situation, and particularly that they have phrased it as "succumbing" to marriage and children. These are things that should be considered sources of joy, not a negative, and certainly not something that should keep you from finding joy in life.

You may go through your life never deciding to get married or have children, and if that's the choice you make that's fine. But understand that it's not a choice you have to make today, and it's not an either/or choice as far as being a strong independent woman.

The situations you can envision yourself in have a lot to do with the situation you find yourself in currently. Today you may not be able to imagine yourself having children, but a time may come when you meet a man who makes you feel as if you are part of a family, and you can see the two of you creating a family together. It would be a mistake to close yourself off to this possibility, just as it would be a mistake to assume it is the only real possibility open to you.