If I could describe myself, I’d say I’m a bit of an emotional roller coaster. I’ve always been a pretty sentimental person. When I was in sixth grade, I joyously threw myself (not very well) into my first show choir performance. Now, I worry about my schoolwork, like the timeliness of this article, and all sorts of different things. So like I said, I’m emotional. I’m a sensitive crybaby. I get too overexcited over small things, like receiving ice cream,  and I have an awful temper, over small fights  or inconveniences, but you know what? I’m not ashamed. Experiencing these emotions, any emotion, is normal because they are a part of life and no one should ever apologize for feeling the way they feel. 

Every day I look around and see people who berate themselves for being emotional or feeling anything at all. “Was he really crying?” “Sorry, I’m a wuss.” “Do you seriously feel that bad or are you just being dramatic?” I hear these statements all the time. Since when did feeling hurt, scared or even overly happy equate to being weak or less than? 

I love my emotions because they make me a better person. That angry rant I have in my car after a rough day is the only thing that truly helps me because I can face that emotion and let it go instead of shoving it down until it explodes in my face. 

Emotions are also great motivators. Don’t tell me you’ve never seen the movie where the lead is royally cheated out of something by a boss, a love interest or even life and then used their feelings of contempt to completely turn the tables and make everything better for themselves. Success can come out of these situations, which might not have been possible if it weren’t for emotions like anger or sadness. 

However, sometimes these emotions can get in the way if they’re being relied on too much or they’re blocking our good judgment. We may listen to our tears and eat that eighth donut instead of our heads telling us to put it back in the box. We may listen to our laughter instead of our heads telling us to stop teasing our friend. Emotions can be blinding, but that doesn’t mean you do away with them completely. It is important to have balance and know that too much of anything is never a good thing. When the scale tips a bit too much on either side, that’s when problems occur. 

Just be aware that without emotions, you wouldn’t be able to truly experience a full life. Life requires all ranges of emotions and each one is equally important. Can’t make those rainbows without any rain, right? So, when you want to scream to release pent-up stress or do an “I just got pizza” happy dance or cry because of that C+ in AP Bio, just swallow your pride and be emotional. Or call me, because let’s be real, you know I’ll always join you in your emotional roller coaster.