Benjamin Nguyen Ms. Moccia
12/18/16 AP Language
Reflection to Paul Theroux's "Being a man"
Paul Theroux's "Being a man" resonated with me on some points, feeling as if it were detailing an autobiography about my life. Theroux covers many "manly" stereotypes, many of which I conform to. I typically do enjoy sports, tend to be more aggressive as a male e.g by participating in sports such as Jiu-Jitsu and Taekwondo my whole life and tend to be less emotional. However, I asked myself, is this really such a bad thing? I looked back at my upbringing as a child, and whenever I would cry over a loss in match or cry over pain I felt during training, my mother would always tell me, "Ben, stop crying. Only girls cry. You're a man. Go to the bathroom and wash your face." Memories like these always stuck with me. I look back on it now and I have to say, I thank my mom for doing this as a child. My mother exposed me to the reality that the world isn't sunshine and rainbows, and that sometimes you have to show that you are strong and resilient. Of course there are situations when crying is applicable, such as a death in the family or tears of happiness, but when I look in the media today and see those who cry over an election or even a broken pinky, it seems so trivial to me. My father had also over time injected me with my quick wit and cleverness that has come to be known as a stereotype for being a charming man. Whether it be helping me getting out of a ticket, hold down a conversation, a job interview, easing tension in the room or even talking to girls, this quick wit has helped me so many times. So I say it, that these stereotypes of being a "man", I don't mind conforming too, however, there are some distinctions in the political course that a man loses out to then compared to a women, which is entire different discussion in of itself.
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