If I had been asked this question many years ago about designer baby then my answer might have been very different. Because when I was a kid, I always disliked the color of my skin. As you guys already know that I am from Bangladesh and but many people still called me "black" because of my brown skin. Most of the time I was mocked and they made jokes about my skin colou and those words were really painful for me.
Honestly, I thought if I was a fair skinned boy then people would have liked me more and I would be popular. Maybe they would have started to respect me more. I saw fair skinned people being treated so well. So, there was times when I wished "If I could change my skin color" because it made me feel that I was ugly and not good enough.
But as I think about this in 2026 and I realize the problem was never my skin but the people around me. They made me feel less valuable and I don't know for what reason maybe they didn't like seeing me happy, so they wanted to make me feel bad by saying harsh words. Sadly, their words started to affect me slowly and became my own thoughts eventually I ended up believing them.
After I got married and became a father. My wife and my two young daughters helped me see myself differently. They love me for who I am not because of my appearance. To be honest, even before my child was born, I have always prayed for my children not to have my skin color because I knew how would they feel because of criticism. When I saw our baby for the first time, I felt lucky, when I saw my daughter's getting the genes of their mother. But now I feel ashamed about It for having such thoughts. My family always have been supportive. It doesn't mean they think I'm ugly to them, they said the love me the way I am. So, through my family, I learned that a persons value comes from their thoughts and personality and the way they treat others. I really believe in it and I want to continue to do so.
I am an experienced man, I don't agree with genetically modifying babies just to make them look "perfect." It's not a good idea at all. If parents start choosing features of a baby then we may teach future generations that natural children are not good enough. We are already adult and trying to change our features because we are not satisfied with it and now we are after the babies. Which is going to create unnecessary pressure and unrealistic standards.
But we can still use genetic technology to prevent serious diseases of kids and we can save many lives. I am sure many people would support this idea more. Because helping a child live a healthier life is very different from changing how they look just to meet the society's standard.
I pray no child goes through such things in the future. Every child deserves love and care. They should grow up thinking they don't need to be like someone else or imitate others to deserve love from anyone. Instead of changing babies, I think we should change the way people think. When I was a kid, my father passed away earlier and for that reason I grew up in a hard environment. I know if he was still alive he would have never let me feel so insecure about myself in the past. Anyway, we should teach children to respect themselves and others, no matter their skin color or appearance.
I know I have spent years wishing I looked different. But now, I am completely grateful to be the way I am. My family helped me understand that I never needed to change my skin. I only needed to see my own worth.
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