Everything I’ll Teach My Boys So They Grow Up To Be Men

Dear Boys,

As your dad, I promise that I’ll do the best that I can to help you become men of honor. It’s something that I’ve been trying to do, even before you were born, but especially now.

When you both were born, I knew that you were blessed with so much potential. I knew that you both were meant for great things in this world. The first time I held you both, my heart screamed, “Look out, world!”

There are so many lessons for you to learn. I’m still learning, but I promise I’ll teach you the best of what I’ve learned to teach you to truly be men.

I want you to know that being a man doesn’t mean that you have to be always tough, aggressive, and insensitive. That’s just being stupid with pride.

It’s perfectly okay for men to cry, especially about important things that matter (or even if you drop a bowling ball on your foot). It’s okay to have feelings; that’s what makes us human. Your feelings are genuine, and you should own them.

I’ll teach you to stand up for what you believe is right and fight for a more just world.

I want you to grow up being respectful and respected. I want you to show respect to others, even those who don’t necessarily deserve it. I’ll be happy knowing that you tried your best to be compassionate human beings. I want you to show people that they’re important and that they’re lives are significant, even if they don’t think so. How you treat others shows your true character.

I want you to be respectful to women, with your words and actions. You will definitely understand what consent is. You will understand what sexism and rape culture is, and hopefully do your part in fighting them to help make our society a safer place for everyone.

You’ll grow up being courageous. You won’t be afraid to tackle any challenge that life throws at you. I will teach you to be brave in an uncertain world. I’ll teach you to stand up for what you believe is right and fight for a more just world. I’ll teach you that there is honor in sticking up for people who are being victimized, oppressed, or marginalized. You’ll be a spark of light in this world.

Someday (if not, every day), you’ll blow the world away with how amazing you turned out to be. You’ll be examples of what men should be. You’ll be role models that young boys aspire to be. I will guide you every step of the way.

Love,

Dad

Roderick Conwi is the Editor of Nourishment Notes. This article was syndicated from Medium.