Stop Crying, and Be a Man

I have spent my entire life being told to toughen up, develop a thick skin, grow a pair, stop taking things so personally. Basically, people have been telling me for forty years to be a man.

But sometimes I cry. I wear my emotions on my sleeve. I often don't have a wall around me but advertise when I'm hurt or when I'm ecstatic or when I feel whatever I feel.

I was told by a professor in college that my sensitivity was my greatest gift and my greatest curse. It has helped me get to a pretty good place in my life at forty, and I hope it helps me live the rest of my life just as well.

I wear that judgment like a badge of honor.