To a Boy on His Way
Here's a true word: It's hard to be a man.
Oh, you'll hear the voices, saying: This is what it means to be a man. That is what men are.
Don't believe any of them. They're all wrong.
Here's another true word: There's not just one way to be a man.
When I was your age, I heard those voices, too. Much of what they said wasn't me, and so I thought: Well, then, maybe I'm not a man.
But the voices were wrong, and so was I.
Here's what I had to work so hard, and for so long, to discover: There's not just one way to be a man. In fact, there are lots of different ways. Which way is yours?
You're now on a quest for your own manhood. Always remember, your work is not to be this or to be that, but to discover just what kind of a man you are. What does manhood look like on you?
Keep your eyes open. Who are the men around you that you admire, and want to be like?
They're the ones who can teach you. They're the ones to learn from.
What kind of man will you be? That's what it's up to you to figure out for yourself. You're the only one who can.
As you embark on your quest, let me just pass along a sage bit of drollery that I once heard from a wise elder.
Always remember that there aren't enough dicks to go around in the world.
That's why it's your responsibility to share.