OPINION: Ireland's birth rates are dropping and I think I know why

Picture this: endless travelling, weekends spent sleeping in, a budget that is free from the cost of nappies, and entirely your own. In other words: freedom!

For more and more people today, myself included, that dream is becoming a reality, by choosing not to have children. 

So, here is why I am going to stay child-free, and why I think this is a rebirth for the women in Ireland today. 

According to the Central Statistics Office, there was an astonishing 10% drop in birth rates between 2021 and 2022, here in Ireland. 

In a world where these rates are plummeting left, right and centre, it's validating to know that I am not the only one opting out of the traditional track of life. 

It became evident to me quite young that maybe being a mother was not the life for me. 

When I was 8 years old, I received a baby doll for Christmas.

While other children around me were concerned with feeding and clothing their precious dolls, I was just trying to figure out how to make mine shut up from the non-stop crying.

And I won't lie, not much has changed nearly two decades later, except now, the babies aren't plastic anymore, they're real.

My beliefs were reinforced when friends around me started giving birth to kids of their own, trying their best to assure me that my mind would change, and that it would be for the better. 

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I've been promised by people that "having children is the most fulfilling thing you will ever do," but, the thing is, I genuinely already feel fulfilled, and I do not think I need to bring a child into the world to prove that. To myself, or others. 

If I can respect peoples choices to have kids, they should respect my choice to not, but this is rarely the case. 

Whether people realise it or not, motherhood is instilled in girls from a very young age, and we are taught that to get married and have babies is the 'normal' and 'right' thing to do. 

The choice to remain child-free is a way to reclaim our lives, by focusing on the lives we want to live, rather than the ones we are conditioned to. 

While I could book a holiday in the morning (pending time-off from work, of course), my friends with children couldn't, due to the rising cost of childcare and other factors. 

Now don't get me wrong, the love a child can give you is priceless, but they are expensive.

I love my nieces and nephews more than words can say, I love playing games with them and looking after them, but I would be a liar if I did not say that my favourite part of the day is getting to go home to a quiet, empty house, but that's just me.

More and more people are beginning to realise that having children is not a requirement, but rather a choice.

One of the best days of my life was when I realised my 'happily ever after' didn't need children to feel complete.

It is okay to want something different, even if people may not understand. The idea of a happy life no longer has to revolve around traditional family roles. 

What I adore about this generation is the diversity of choices, most of which we didn't feel we had 30 years ago, and for me, and many others, that choice is clear.