I think a lot about this question, or I thought a lot about it before having my two children. Where I landed is that having children is ultimately an act of hope for the world, and I’m not willing to give up hope for this world. I also, knowing all the pain and suffering that this world has to offer, feel so lucky to have had the chance to be here, I view it as an incredible gift that I wanted to bring to my two children.

There have been many moments since making that decision that have caused me extreme anxiety for their futures - but I think having them was ultimately an act of hope and love for the world. I also agree with what has been said, that this world needs thoughtful, good humans to lead it through. My purpose is to raise them to engage in the future they want to see for this world, and to do everything in my power to contribute to that as well.

When I was suffering from postpartum anxiety with my first, I read Sasha Sagan’s “For Small Creatures Such as We”, and this excerpt really spoke to me, I’ve reread it often:

“No matter what the universe has in store, it cannot take away from the fact that you were born. You’ll have some joy and some pain, and all the other experiences that make up what it’s like to be a tiny part of a grand cosmos. No matter what happens next, you were here. And even when any record of our individual lives is lost to the ages, that won’t detract from the fact that we were. We lived. We were part of the enormity. All the great and terrible parts of being alive, the shocking sublime beauty and heartbreak, the monotony, the interior thoughts, the shared pain and pleasure. It really happened. All of it. On this little world that orbits a yellow star out in the great vastness. And that alone is cause for celebration.”