I know it's the right decision for me because it's the only decision that has remained constant in my life.

I remember when my dad gave me "the talk." It wasn't really much of a talk actually; he gave me a box of rubbers and told me "action_lawnmower, getting a woman pregnant will ruin your life." I was 13. Shit stuck with me.

I remember watching my classmates who got pregnant in high school drop out to work two jobs because they had to feed their kid. I remember watching my college classmates drop out and give up on their dreams because they had to feed their kid. I've seen work performance struggle, I've seen people age, I've seen people barely hanging on by a fucking thread.

I'm 26. I know, I know, "I'll change my mind when I'm a little older." You know what? Fuck that. People have been telling me that since I was 13, but I can't ever see my mind changing. I look at all the people I went to high school with who decided to raise families, and it's like I don't even see people anymore. Maybe there is something beautiful about devoting yourself entirely to raising a kid, but I dunno, man; they live in the same fucking town they grew up in and they're still bitching about how there's no work in the area, just a city of people fighting each other for the three remaining jobs at Kodak that pay $30,000 per year, which is like $21,000 after taxes, $20,500 of which goes straight into their kid's fucking mouth.

Fuck that. I got out. I graduated from law school. I'm here to compete, not to be held back.

Shit man, I remember my dad had this sweet fucking camaro when I was 3 or 4. By the time I turned 5 he was driving a minivan. When we go golfing or have a beer together he always tells me he wouldn't have had it any other way, but I can tell he's always wondered what his life would've been like if he'd lived it for himself. That's something I never want to feel.