Cry

Go ahead and cry if you must, if you think you should, if you think it’s about time but remember to stop and think. Ensure that there is learning for every tear-shedding moment. It can be a life-changing epiphany or a simple thought; “Tears make the eyes look fresh.”

Cry when it hurts, when it’s almost or absolutely unbearable. Cry when you can’t contain your laughter. Cry because you crave attention, long for affection, or seek forgiveness. Cry when you had to painfully forget someone or when he or she easily ignores you.

Cry and talk to someone but don’t feel guilty when you cry without letting anyone know. Cry and make sounds. Cry when it’s true. If you can’t help it, wail. If you can control it, sob. If it hurts deep within, weep. Cry when you think it’s proper. Cry even if it’s awkward. Don’t be ashamed for no one is immune to the emotional vulnerability that forces, compels, invites, or surprises us to cry. We were all born crying. Those who didn’t were not the brave ones. We fought our way out here crying—that was how we announced our being.

Cry regardless of who you are. Cry because you’re a girl. Cry because that’s what makes a man. Cry because you’re gay and prove to people that you’re either lame or your stronger than most for showing your emotions. Cry to show sympathy. Cry as if you have one.

Cry when you’re happy and cry when you’re not. Cry when you’re honest, cry to play pretend. Crying has become stereotypically associated with weakness that it’s a convenient excuse or defense, regardless of the circumstance.

Cry to be understood or cry when no one bothers to understand you at all. Cry when you wish you could just disappear from this orderless world.

Cry once a year, once a month, or every two weeks. It’s reassuring to know that your tears will never run out, anyway.

Cry in the movies. Let the tears drop on your book. Cry and bend on the couch, comforting yourself that the world is safer with just you and your good old childhood blanket. Cry while singing a song. Cry to award speeches. Cry while watching the US president. Cry for the victims of extrajudicial killings.

Cry to clear your mind. Cry when you’ve just figured out a way out of a complicated problem. Cry to celebrate, commemorate, create, and communicate. Cry and walk out or cry in a corner.

Cry to surprise yourself or your loved ones. Cry to reveal what’s long been hidden. Cry because you care. Cry when you can give nothing else including care.

Cry and learn from it or cry because you can’t seem to get the lesson from the same situation. As an actor, cry to impress. As a child, cry to express. Adults, cry and be strong by being weak, first. Depressed? Cry to release. Mourning? Cry to accept.

Cry for now but not forever. It’s good but not without a burden. Cry when you can’t think properly or when you’re writing with so much pain.

Do yourself a favor. Cry. Cry and be forgiving—to your downs, your past, and your shortcomings. Cry and be welcoming—to changes and new beginnings. Cry when you succeed.

There’s too much happening that drowns you in life. When you can’t find the right words to express what you’re feeling along the way, three letters are okay. Cry anyway.