OK, let's be honest with each other for a second: I'm emotional, and hopefully you are, too. And well, if you're not, this whole being-honest-with-each-other thing is gonna get awkward. That really cute picture of a puppy you saw when you were stressed, or that time you hopelessly cried at "The Notebook"? We've all been there.
Crying sucks, and being vulnerable is even worse. Those pesky tears that can't help but make their way out of your tear ducts certainly don't help. Oh, and don't forget the raging headache and the swollen eyes -- it's just a great time. But, being emotional and crying occasionally is actually pretty freeing. Worst case scenario, people will take pity on you, which, let's be honest, isn't the worse thing in the world. And maybe they will offer to buy you ice cream. Maybe there is some good to humankind, eh? Don't confuse this with me saying you should cry to get what you want, because that never works -- right, Mom and Dad?
There is a certain stigma that goes along with "being emotional." If you cry more than two times in your whole life, you're emotional, and if you're a woman, you're automatically more emotional because that's just the gender ideology that we are subjected to. Evolutionarily speaking, the rate at which men and women have evolved basically equates to zero. Women had to become more evolved to negative emotions in order to care for their young and fight against threats, meanwhile the men had the responsibility of leaving the homestead and providing for their young. My point being, women are more in-tune with their emotions, yes, but it should not be assumed that we are more emotional just because we know the difference between anger and sadness.
Those of you who know me in real life know that I hate to show emotion most of the time, and I really hate to show that I am feeling upset about something. But what I have learned from my inherently stubborn nature is that it never actually works. When I don't show emotion and bottle it all up inside, things come out -- bad things. I get upset over something small and have to say what's really bothering me.
Deep down, I am emotional, and I won't apologize for that. I am not sorry for trusting you enough to let my guard down in front of you, and I am not sorry for the tears shed in that moment. Being emotional is healthy, and typing those words now, I can hardly believe it took me 21 years to learn that. Crying releases emotions you probably didn't even know you had, and besides the headache and swollen eyes, you feel relieved.
So maybe you should cry every once in a while. Let yourself feel vulnerable. Yes, we are afraid of the unknown, and yes, there will always be things that scare us, but I will never apologize for being "too emotional," because to whose standards are those anyway?
