Skylight Letter #5- To Be Called A Man

Any fool can make a baby…

And that fool’s baby will become a little boy,

And that little boy will eventually grow up…

But when…or how does a boy become a man.

As a matter of fact, I don’t think that a boy can “become” a man.

In my opinion, I believe that phase has already occurred.

Just as women possess the gift of intuition, boys are born with this innate sense of understanding

A boy understands that there is a something bigger out there

Something that is worth sacrificing for; and he must prepare for it.

That’s what makes us seem crazy at times.

Boys use that aggressive mentality and we employ it freely

It’s our weapon, our tool, our defense mechanism

We come off as being so callous because we ourselves are very sensitive.

We witness things as boys (not necessarily bad things) that shape our lives.

We see our mothers and fathers work until 11 o’clock at night…come home to four hours of

Sleep only to get up and do it again.

Work double-overtime shifts so they can make sure we have the things we need

We see them talk about bills and taxes…

And that scares us. Because we know that will be us in the not-so-distant future.

Sometimes, it scares us to even think about getting married and bearing children.

But, if you can look past everything,

If you can look past the worries of raising a family and

If you can embrace the anxiety and the uncertainties of life and counter it with hope and understanding,

If you are physically unable to give up on yourself or the ones who look up to you

Then you have earned the right to be called a man…

And you sir, are a better man than I.

Skylight Letter #5