We are living in a world where something seems to be going on at every second. With this fast-paced lifestyle, social run-ins (and the niceties of conversation) are completely unavoidable. No matter who you are talking to, one question and one answer seem to show in almost every conversation. Good or bad, there seems to be one acceptable response to anyone asking how you are doing.

"I am fine."

Over the past year, I have started to really notice that whenever people are asked how they are doing, "fine" or "okay" are usually the first answers. Even when you are talking with people that you know you can trust, fine might be your answer to how your emotional state is. But why must we constantly be fine?

For whatever reason, our norm is to just constantly shove whatever we are feeling aside and just keep moving forward, as if whatever we are feeling isn't valid. This mentality of invalidating emotions is not just detrimental to the human experience, but to our emotional health as well. Whenever you talk to someone, "I'm fine" tends to stop a conversation from becoming anything but small talk. While small talk is great, you don't have a chance to get to know someone with it.

All conversation seems to take a superficial turn.

Let's say you are entering a restroom and see a friend yours in there crying. When you ask if they are okay, they respond, "I am fine." Even with a person that they know they are safe with, they are terrified to open up and allow themselves to be vulnerable. To reach out and say that you are not fine takes an immense amount of courage.

By allowing yourself to open up and express how you feel, not only are you getting in touch with others, you finally can start to learn the truth about yourself and how you truly feel. From making yourself vulnerable and breaking the facade of being fine, you can break the precedent of bottling your emotions for everyone.