A few days ago was my birthday, and a close friend of mine couldn't visit like he usually would due to the fact that he had to be at work that Sunday. Well, he came around today to say hi and wish me a happy birthday physically, when we both found ourselves having a deep conversation about birthdays.
His birthday was just a month ago, and according to him, he had wished that day wouldn't end due to the amount of love he had received that day.
Now I know that when I said love, the first thing that comes to mind is gifts, but that wasn't the case. Just like me, he had received nothing that day, and yet, everyone treated him special. He got more attention from his colleagues than he normally would, and it felt like for the first time this year, he mattered.
He told me how sad he felt afterward because if there's one thing his birthday did for him, it showed him how much love he doesn't have in his life, how he has always had to be strong and hard, and how he never knew he even needed to be loved in that way.
Not only that, but he had told me that most men are so used to not being loved that we think we don't need all the extra care and love, but then the moment we get it, we realize all that we've been missing and how strong we've been all this while to be able to go through life every day without having these things.
And inasmuch as I agreed with him with everything he said, what actually broke my heart the most was when he played me a recording of a conversation he had with his girlfriend, opening up to her and telling her how he wants to feel loved, how he wants her to always hug him and tell him she loves him, only for her to shut him down and tell him that he was just looking for reasons to fight with her.
I probably wouldn't have believed she said that if I didn't listen to the recording myself. I mean, personally I think it's crazy that he even had to ask her to do the basic things that are already required in a relationship, not to mention her shutting him down like that instead of listening and trying to do better.
The whole conversation made me realize how there are a lot of men out there (including myself) going through emotions like this, but then we can't open up to anyone because the rest of the world expects us to be strong, or they just shut us down.
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