Dear China

If you haven't heard, there are some people that have serious beef with China and their egg freezing policies. And yes, I'm one of them.  

Why?  You ask?

It all started this summer when Xu Jinglei, actor and director, unapologetically shared that she froze her eggs in the United States. Unfortunately, this was not well received in China for two reasons:  her age and marital status.  She's 41 and single.

China's Ministry of Health has set some new boundaries for egg freezing:  "Chinese couples interested in using assisted reproductive technology must present their marriage certificate, identity cards and birth permits and prove that at least one partner is suffering from fertility difficulties if they want to use the technology."

Wait a minute.  It's my understanding that single Chinese women don't receive birth permits and for obvious reasons don't have marriage certificates.  Is the Ministry of Health saying that unmarried women are not allowed to go through the egg freezing process?

Hello?  Anyone?  Bueller?

Teenager Smeenager

Yep, this is me (and my hair)
when I was 17.

I remember myself as a teenager.  I was shy, incredibly unsure, afraid of almost everything and possessed the magical ability to blush instantaneously if a cute, teenage boy looked in my direction.  I had no idea who I was, never mind, who I wanted to be.  I was all over the place.  Who am I kidding?  I'm 39 and some days I still feel like I have no idea what the hell I'm doing in this life.

You know the one thing I've never doubted?  That I wanted to be a mother.

A friend sent me a link to an article about a transgender teen who chose to freeze her eggs before transitioning into a man.  After reading about Cole and watching the video, my first thought was, "Wow.  That's one brave kid."  I admire that at 18 years old, Cole knows who he is and who he wants to be.

Check out Cole's story and let me know what you think.