Movember: Men's Health Month

November is men's health month, which includes things like annual check ups and mental health. I wanted to talk about mental health. Men are often told to be strong and not cry. We are often told not to talk about their emotions. It's 2020 these ideas need to end. Contrary to some beliefs, men can be vulnerable and still be masculine. 

 I am far from perfect. I do not like to talk about my problems. Starting in 8th grade until a few years ago I struggled with suicidal thoughts. It's something I told nobody about until recently. I felt like nobody would understand. I often find it hard to make male friends because most males would rather talk about sports than writing. 

 People often say you find your best friends in college. Well even in college I didn't find my group of guys. There were four main groups that kinda reigned supreme in my dorm. 

 You had the straight party guys who loved sports. These guys invited me out drinking and to strip clubs. No thanks. 

 Next the gay guys who would go to drag shows. Again not my thing. 

 Then were the nerds who would play dungeons and dragons. Not for me. 

 Lastly, the super religious people. While I am religious these group of guys (and girls) essentially ONLY did religious things. They planned stuff basically daily. I don't have the energy and if I wanna go watch David Cook in concert instead of Toby Mac I don't want to be prayed over like I did something wrong. 

 I never had a desire to play Dungeons and Dragons. I never wanted to go to a drag show or a strip club. I wanted to stay in and watch American Idol. I'm sure I wasn't the only outlier from these four groups but it definitely felt like it. (Note: I'm not saying any of these above activities are more or less masculine.) 

It was when I moved here to Florida and met some cool guy friends when I started becoming myself. I even made friends with people who were/are way different than me. I guess I started to become comfortable in my own skin and that made the difference. Be yourself and it's okay to be vulnerable as a man. It's okay to not be okay and it's okay to cry watching the latest Pixar film. 

Masculinity comes in all shapes and sizes.