As my period began this morning, I couldn’t help but be reminded of my struggle with infertility. Countless times during the start of my cycle, I would break down in tears knowing that another month went by without conception. Today feels a little different.

A few months ago, I decided to “choose my hard.” I looked at my options for trying to start a family and realized that no matter what I did, all roads to mama-hood would be challenging. So, I decided to choose the path that felt the best among the hard.

In the infertility world, nothing is guaranteed. There is no magic pill or genie to grant me my wishes. Every outcome is unknown and yet still requires physical and emotional strength and financial abundance. When I first looked at my choices, all I could see was a valley of mountains ahead of me. Everything felt completely scary and out of reach. But then one day I woke up and decided to see this journey differently. Instead of looking at the entire mountain ahead of me, I chose to take a deep breath and focus on the next best step in front of me. I began to feel more in control and confident in my decisions.

Finding Hope

Infertility isn’t easy, and I know the “hard” in my journey is just beginning. There will be days of endless tears and feelings of hopelessness and fear. But I will get through it like all the times before, and I will be stronger for it as well. My upcoming surgery and recovery will be difficult, but I know its outcome will provide clarity and direction for the next decision in my journey. That is choosing your hard.

We are all faced with mountains to climb in life, but we can get through them by choosing to look at our struggles with a fresh perspective and a positive attitude.

No one wants to be identified as the 1 in 8 woman struggling with infertility, and no one deserves to be in this position. But for those of us that are standing here, we still have choices and we have control. Let’s stay united. Choose your hard.