To the Upcoming Generation of Boys

To the Upcoming Generation of Boys,

You have quite a challenge ahead of you.  The world has surrounded you with expectations that can be a bit overwhelming.  It looks like a steep mountain.  The good news is that I know you can do it.  Each and every one of you has the most incredible soul inside of you that is capable of great things. In fact, you can do more than you realize. As you get older, you will find more and more of who you are and what great things you can do!  You are incredible.

Looking at the men of the current generation, you have a pretty wide array of choices.  Don't be the man that disrespects and fights all of them.  Don't be the man that hates.  Be the man that stands out from the crowd.  Be the man that knows who HE is and doesn't follow the crowd.

It's okay to be masculine.  I know that all we hear anymore is how you have to coddle boys but it's okay to be masculine.  It doesn't make you bad.  It's okay to need that space from the female drama that seems to ensue regularly.  It's okay to want to hang out with your friends instead of watching a chick flick.  It's okay to do "guy things" without being judged.  If a woman judges you for being "a guy", she's not the woman for you.

It's okay to have feelings.  You aren't weak if you cry.  You aren't weak if you get scared or overwhelmed.  You're not "a chick" if you express emotions.  You're a healthy human being.  Here's the catch.... you should express your emotions in YOUR way as long as you're not hurting yourself or someone else.  If that means you cry, fine.  If that means you take a walk to clear your head, fine.  If that means that you write or work out or whatever it takes to deal with your emotions, it's okay to do that (again, as long as you're not hurting yourself or someone else.)

It's okay to be strong.  I don't mean physically here (though that's okay too).  It's okay to walk away from a relationship with a girl that is treating you like less of a person.  The celebrities that these girls are looking up to keep their guys on a leash...they treat them as if they are a belonging and not a person.  It's okay to walk away from that.  It's okay to walk away from an unhealthy relationship.

Your body is your own.  That doesn't mean that a girl can pressure you into sex of any kind.  I know it's constantly advertised that boys are sex-crazed beasts but you are more than that.  Your body is yours.  Peer pressure can be strong, especially for boys, and you don't have to give in.  You are stronger than you realize.  You don't have to do what the crowd is doing.  You don't have to ask girls to do it either, contrary to the current trends.  You ALSO don't have to give in to girls who try to do this stuff to impress you.  You are more than a statistic.  You have a great journey ahead.

Let me say this final thought: You are going to achieve great things.  You are capable of great feats and you can achieve each and every one of them.  You have so much within you.  Be who YOU are and not who the world wants you to be.

Sincerely,
A Mom of Boys