One teacher has revealed why having children would have completely 'mentally destroyed' her.
Jessica Hawk made a decision to be child-free decades ago in her teen years and has not looked back since.
Explaining a little more about her choice, Jessica opened up about how becoming a mum would have had a severely negative impact on her. Have a listen:
The teacher took to TikTok to share with her 428.5k followers exactly why she never had kids, explaining: "By far, the most common question I get about being child free by choice is, 'When did you make the decision?'"
While many inquisitive followers may have been after a specific date or point in time, Jessica stated that 'it wasn't that'.
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"It's more of the fact that I never saw myself as a mum," she added.
Jessica puts a lot of her decision down to her childhood experiences, recalling: "I didn't really play with dolls. I didn't play house. I didn't enjoy babysitting."
While admitting that 'little kids are okay', the teacher admitted that she can only handle them 'in small doses'.
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Then, when her friends started having kids, it was an 'oh hell no' moment for Jessica.
"It just solidified everything," she carried on, "It was never an 'aha' moment. It was always just who I was."
In a follow-up video, Jessica explained that many people asks her if she regrets having children 'now that [she's] older'.
"I don't regret it for one second," she answered, "I never wanted to have a child. So how can I regret not having one?
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"I mean, I'm doing exactly what I wanted to do."
Jessica went on to outline that there are some people who are happy with their children in their lives and 'can't imagine not having that fulfilment'.
She continued: "I will say they have a relationship and a fulfilment that I will never know. And I'm so happy for them.
"But I never wanted it. So I don't miss it."
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For those who are worried about not having children and being 'alone when they get older', Jessica reassured viewers that there are 'so many ways that you can create relationships that are other family members, significant others [and] friends'.
"It doesn't have to be in a child," the teacher added, "Having a child doesn't necessarily mean that you won't be lonely."
She concluded: "So do I regret it? No, I'm exactly where I want to be in my life. And I'm very, very grateful for that. And I worked hard for it."
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Jessica went on to reveal that she would have one day become 'resentful' of her life if she had decided to have children after all.
Speaking to Newsweek, she explained: "I would have wanted to be a stay-at-home mom like mine - that would have mentally destroyed me.
"I have always needed a project or a task or a long-term goal."
Rhiannon Ingle