How men are still as emotionaly locked up as they were in the 1930s.

This is basically a blog subject that I didn't think of myself, it was suggested to me by a friend. So I will say sorry now in case it is complete and utter rubbish. Sorry. There, now that's done, I can write the blog.

So, men. As a guy, I am under the pressure of needing to fit in, like everyone else I guess, but for men, for whatever reason, it is hard to open up, and show emotions. I am, for one, not a person who has much trouble showing emotion. I tend to show how I am feeling. I wear my heart on my sleeve, so to speak. I am a very open person. I think that this is best because, this way, if something is wrong, I do not need to keep it bottled up, and then it can't eat me up from inside. It means that I can get help from my friends and family if something is bugging me. But for other men, it is hard to open up, and show others how they are feeling. This may be because they feel that people will think less of them if they show that they can feel things. Or perhaps, for whatever stupid reason, people may think that they are in some way homosexual. This seems to happen to me with certain people, "Oh, he has feelings, and he can show them, henceforth, through my 'oh so clever' logic, he must be gay." On the contrary, I am not gay, I just have the ability to show how I am feeling. This may not be the same for others, but it does happen to me.

When you start to show emotions, it is considered to be a sign of weakness, but it really is not. It is a sign of strength, passion, joy, sadness, the list goes on. All emotions are felt by everyone sometime during their lifetime, but for men, it seems to be hard to show them. I cannot say that I understand why this is, but I am going to try and explain why I think the reasons behind it. It may be that men are actually scared of being judged, which is quite possible, but it may also be that they feel less of a man if they show their emotions. Emotions are part of human nature, so I do not see why people judge others on them.

Men may still be as locked up emotionally as they were in the nineteen thirties, but I do not know for sure, having never been to that time period. But men are still locked up about emotions, perhaps because they never learnt how to show them properly, or perhaps due to the fact that they just don't understand what they are feeling. I am also sometimes confused about what I am feeling, but then I talk to someone, try to put it into words, try to understand what I am feeling. I have to say that talking to people helps you understand what your feeling.

Men might also might be locked up because they do not know how to put into words what they are feeling. Perhaps in the 1930s it was frowned upon for men to talk about feelings. In fact, it still is now. And it just isn't British, talking about emotions. It isn't something that people in Britain are good at, I do not know why. I do not fully understand why this is. Maybe it is because we just cannot talk about it, because it just isn't croquet. Perhaps in the 1930s, men were men, only talking about sport and abusing women. That isn't my view on how men should be, merely the 1930s outlook. Whilst the women stayed at home, cooked, cleaned and looked after the children, the men were out working, often in factories, quarries, and the likes, so the men only ever really talked to other men, so they never opened up. This would have been passed down generations of men, so they never had a proper heart to heart with their father, which has impacted on today's men. They struggle to talk about emotions and the likes. The conversations are mainly based on what makes both parties feel comfortable, so if someone doesn't feel comfortable talking about something, the problem will be ignored. It sounds like some kind of disease like that, and in a way, it is. The disease that has crippled men through generations. The disease that has stopped men being able to talk about certain things. I do not know. I didn't take history as a GCSE, so I cannot pretend to know much about history, but this is what I think is the reason behind it. After 70-80 years of this, people are starting to realise that emotions are not big and scary, everybody feels them, at different points during their lives, but they do feel them. This slow dawning has made it easier for men to open up, even though the older generations are still struggling, the younger generation, mine, are talking to our peers about these things, because we are making proper friendships, making strong bonds between people, who we then feel we can talk to about almost anything, although some things still are carefully avoided, often because we find them to be embarrassing, but just as often, we cannot put the things into words, so the problem goes unattended. Men are still struggling to show emotions, for the fear that someone will still judge them on their behaviour. This is rather silly, because we are all the same, we all came into the world the same way, we are all equal, so no-one has the right to judge us. So, to all you men out there, to coin a phrase, man up, and be open about everything, because, lets face it, nobody is any better or worse than you. No-one can judge you for being who you are, and feeling how you feel. I don't think that this has really stuck much to the title of the blog, so again I am sorry for it being complete and utter rubbish, but there you go. There is the blog on that, which did go a little of course, but it is now done. The end.

Lengths of time spent on things

In life, you spend a lot of time doing things you don't enjoy. In my case: homework and chores. It takes away time from me that I could be spending doing things I enjoy. Things like sports, my drama club, relaxing at home and hanging around with my friends. Although I do make time to do these things, I don't have as much time as I would like. Unfortunately, homework is something that has to be done, otherwise bad things happen. Such as detention, which takes even more time away from me being able to talk to my friends. And if I don't do my chores, I end up getting grounded, so I can't see my friends, which means that I spend time on my homework, and other relatively boring tasks along those lines, which doesn't half put me in a bad mood. Which means that I am even less likely to do what I should. So I get grounded again, or get detention. Which takes away even more time from me being able to do the things I like. It is really just a cruel circle if I'm honest.
Of course, there are the things that I do enjoy doing, such as hanging out with friends, sports, my drama club and relaxing at home. I have to admit that I am a bit of a Facebook and Twitter addict. I have them both open on different tabs even as I am writing this. I spend a lot of my free time on the computer, talking to people, seeing what is going on in the world of my friends.In fact, that is probably half the reason I don't do my homework and chores. Too much of Facebook and Twitter. Perhaps I should stop. But I don't think that it is going to happen, due to me needing to know what is going on around the world. I also spend a lot of time texting, which can become rather expensive. Just as well Tesco do the thing with tripling your credit when you top up ten, fifteen or twenty pounds, and for free. It is very, very useful for me, because I wouldn't make it though without that deal. Due to my need to talk to people and socialise, I end up spending a lot of money on that. I have gone of subject a bit there. Back to what I was talking about. I also spend a lot of time listening to music. I don't think that I would survive a day without listening to some form of music. It is in my blood. And after seven years of my drama club, at which I sing, dance and act, I feel the need to move to the music, or sing along, or both sometimes, depending on the song. I do really enjoy going to my drama club. It has made me who I am today. I know that sounds rather cliche, but it is the truth. Before going there, I was a shy, closed-off little boy, but now, I am a confident and open dude. Yes, dude. I couldn't think of a better word. But I wouldn't be writing this blog if it weren't for that drama group. I owe them all so much. So I would like to say thank you to them now, even though they probably will never read this, but it makes me feel better. I also enjoy going there because I have so many good friends there, and I have spent seven years worth of Saturday afternoons with. For three hours at a time. I think that is a grand total of nine hundred and forty five hours, give or take a few hours. Wow, that is a long time....
So, I went a little off track, and took a little trip down memory lane then, and I actually got a little emotional, because of all the good times I have had there. All those times that you don't think you'll ever remember when you are in the moment, but looking back, you really do. All those times spent sat around talking, singing, dancing, acting and just being children, and then growing to become teenagers together. Wow, I am getting really emotional now, because I am probably going to have to leave soon, and a lot of my good friends are going to be leaving. I actually have a tear in my eye. But in a good way, I guess.
I'm going to stop that there, before I start crying everywhere. So, back to my chosen subject, which I shall continue with on the subject of sports. I love my sports, I find that it is a good release of everything that you've had to keep inside. It is a way of letting yourself go, even if it is only for an hour in PE. For instance, football. I am a fanatic, I play it at every opportunity I get. It is a way of releasing the pent up energy that you cannot release any other way. What I am saying is, don't just do things because you have to, do them because you enjoy them, and don't live your life thinking "what if?" Live your life without regrets, get up, and go at them.

Music (Or to be specific, songs that last for a long time)

I was listening to Deep Purple Made In Japan, possibly the best Deep Purple album ever produced by the band, and I couldn't help but notice that there were seven tracks, and the whole CD lasted for one hour and sixteen minutes. This may sound old fashioned, but how is that possible, I mean SEVEN tracks, seven! For an hour and sixteen minutes! For goodness sake, one of them is nearly twenty minutes long. If Deep Purple had done a live cover of Rush's 2112, we would all have been done for. That songs is twenty something minutes long as it is, but Deep Purple managed to make a four minute long song of theirs normally last for nearly twice that long, so the whole night would have been taken up by the one song, if they had covered 2112. I am writing this because I was talking about it at school with my good friend David, and we both are very interested in music, particuarly the rock side, usually when we talk about music, it is talking about older artists, such as Deep Purple, Black Sabbath and the likes. We got to talking about Made In Japan, and came to the conclusion that it is probably the single greatest album ever produced by Deep Purple, and then David said that if you combined Made In Japan and Made In Europe, both by Deep Purple, you would have the best possible album ever created by a single group of rock artists, or at least, those particular rock artists. Talking of great rock artists, Meat Loaf has a problem with producing songs that are fairly long, such as Bat Out Of Hell, nine minutes long, I Would Do Anything For Love (But I Won't Do That), twelve minutes long, and most recently from the Bat Out Of Hell trilogy, The Monster Is Loose, seven minutes long. But seeing as the Bat Out Of Hell tilogy has been descibed as "the greatest rock and roll adventure ever." So he can get away with it. I was also wondering how is it that Rush can produce a twenty something minute long song, and still make their album less than forty minutes long, and it is still an amazing album, with amazing songs, whilst other artists struggle to do the same, even if they produce shorter songs? And sometimes, I think that some songs go on for too long. I mean, we know that you are very good at what you do, but we would prefer it if you could give us shorter, more varied examples of what you do, rather than one really long song, that is fairly similar throughout, and that way, we don't get bored and change the song, because I personally find that if a song goes on for too long, and seems to repeat itself, I have to skip it, because I am bored by it. Of course, I appreciate that they are very good musicians, and that they can do these things, but seriously, break it up a little. Like in The Mule, on Made In Japan, nearly the whole song is taken up by a drum solo, which is very, very impressive, I admit, but after seven minutes of drum solo, and it not even being quite in time, is a little tedious, due to the fact that drums just don't have the range of sound that guitars do. I have nothing against drums, in fact one of my good friends plays the drums, pretty well I might add, so I do appreciate them, but still, not the same as a good guitar solo. Like the one in Gary Moore's Parisienne Walkways (live), but then there is a problem with that as well, and that is that he holds a note for thirty seconds, and it sounds good, but it does prove for a slight twinge in the head. Which is why I say, to all you rock stars, or generally musicains who like to play long solos, turn it down a bit, we like the solos, but if they get too long, we get bored, and often will not listen to you for a while. And to the rock stars, and musicains who like to play very long songs, please, just a smaller sample would be nice, we know you can do it, so please, give us little tasters of what you do, and we will keep coming back for more. Thank you for listening.

Birthdays

It is my birthday this month, and I am looking forward to it quite a bit, if I am honest. It means that I am one step closer to being able to do everything legally (even though I have been doing most of the things for a few years already). It also means that I am closer to being an adult, which is a slightly worrying thought, I do not think that I am really mature enough to be an adult, but I have still have time to sort that. HAHAHAHA! I do not think that it is likely to happen, but there we go. It also means that I have an excuse for a party, which is never a bad thing. I do enjoy a good "partay". Yes, I do mean "partay", it is just not the same if it is a mere party. It is something I enjoy doing, going to partys, because it is a way of socialising, and meeting new people, which can provide to be quite interesting, to say the least. But i go off topic, as I do in most of my blogs. Did it again. Should really stop that. And again. Right, back to what I was talking about, birthdays, and the resulting partys. so, every year it comes around, my birthday that is, not always a party, but still I am having one this year, for my sixteenth, or as my mother and her friends kindly put it "my super sweet sixteenth". Yes, thank you mother, I am not a stupid cow of a girl who thinks it important to spend stupid amounts of money on a party that always ends up being absoutly shocking, and feels the need to be on television for the thirty seconds of fame it will bring me, and then I will get thrown onto the pile of people who appeared on television for half an hour, and then gets forgotten, by everybody, and most importantly my friends, because I get to big for my boots, and slag everyone off who does not have a party on television. But anyway, I am not like that. I just want to have a good time with some friends, with music, dancing, and probably bad singing (not from me of course, I am an amazing singer. *cough*). All I really want is to be able to dance (well) with the girl I love. I would not mind if that was all I got for my birthday. But still, presents are nice. But I honestly do not really have anything I want this year. Which is annoying, because people keep asking me what I want, so all I can say is "I really don't know. Suprise me. But nothing to weird. Sorry." Because I have no idea. You may be thinking "WHAT!? A nearly sixteen year old doesn't want anything really for his birthday? What is wrong with him?" But that is just me, I am a bit different. So anyway, that is it really. My birthday. Summed up rather too easily. Perhaps I need to something about that. If you have any suggestions, please do feel free to comment below. Or wherever is easiest for you.