Your Emotions Are Powerful, Don’t Be Ashamed

I’m often guilty of letting my emotions “get the best of me.” Now, this isn’t to say that I can’t be a completely logical human when the situation calls for it. This just means that when I’m discussing something important, something that I am so very passionately about, I can’t help but get flustered. It’s something I’ve never been able to control. It’s also something I’ve been put down for since I can remember.

When making a point, whether it’s in a debate, or when discussing a social issue with friends or family, we’re often told that we must hide our emotions in order to be taken seriously. Why is that? What makes emotions so unreliable? Emotions are something that happens to everyone; therefor we shouldn’t be ashamed of them. We should embrace them. They are what make us people.

In my opinion, emotions are concrete evidence of how important an issue is. For most people, it’s rare that something so simple as a discussion can lead to red cheeks, stuttering or even tears. These things should be clear indications that what we are saying is important to us.

I didn’t realize this until last year when I had a somewhat of an emotional breakdown regarding a class I was taking. I came to my professor and expressed the hardships I was facing, tears rushing down my eyes. The first thing my professor told me was to stop crying and deal with it. She made it seem as if crying was not dealing with it, which confused me wholeheartedly. To me, crying is just another step in my own problem-solving method.

I could’ve help but think: “Why is she so against my emotions?” To her, I was surrendering to my emotions and letting them “get the best of me.” I was giving up. But she was wrong. I had these emotions because I cared. I cared so much that I risked seeming “unprofessional” and vulnerable.

Watery eyes, raised voices and shaky hands are not dismissive: they are powerful. They equal passion. And like many have said, without passion, nothing would get done.

So get angry. Get flustered. Cry. It won’t make your views any less valid.

Your emotions are powerful.