I’ve been thinking a lot about what it means to be a man in a world that keeps handing out rules none of us asked for. Everywhere you look, someone is telling men how they’re supposed to live, how they’re supposed to act, what they should want, and what makes them “real.” And honestly, a lot of us end up feeling depressed not because we’re doing something wrong, but because we’re constantly being pushed into roles that don’t fit who we actually are. Some people recharge by being outside and constantly moving, and some people feel safer and calmer at home. Some guys are social, some are quiet, some are creative, some are steady, and none of that makes anyone less of a man. What hurts is the pressure — the idea that you have to perform a certain version of masculinity just to be accepted. That pressure wears people down. I’m at a point where I don’t want to live by a script someone else wrote. I want to build a life that matches who I am, even if it doesn’t look like what society expects. I think a lot of men feel this way but don’t know how to say it. Being a man shouldn’t mean carrying everything alone or pretending you’re fine when you’re not. It should mean having the freedom to be yourself without being judged for it and I feel like if this continues I won’t be here people really need to wake tf up and see things what they are before things get even worse..