October Post

Chase Sahlin

COM 160

October Blog Post

            Growing up I was always taught that I had to be a responsible man.  Being a man means different things to almost everybody. However, one common perception about a man is that they must be fearless. Whether it is their family, friends or strangers; they all picture the man of the family as the protector or someone who isn’t afraid of any challenge. I think this is perfectly represented from Andres Gomez in “Fear: Beneath the Façade”. He states, “Every day I watch men around me struggle with the burden of concealing their fear, like I did for so many years”. This way of thinking is wrong in many ways, but I also do agree with it to a certain extent.

            First, fear is a natural thing for humans. We will all fear something at some point in our lives, even men. What will differ from person to person is how they handle this fear. As one of my favorite actors, Charlie Day, said in a graduation speech, “You don’t have to be fearless, just don’t let fear stop you”. Fear is inevitable, but real men will embrace their fears rather than shying away from them. For example, a few years ago I had a terrible fear of public speaking. Did I stop taking communication classes to try and avoid public speaking as much as possible? No. I took a public speaking class so I could do my best to get over my fear and feel comfortable while speaking publicly. I think this is a great example as to how a man should handle his fears.

            Next, I think men shouldn’t be looked down on whether they feel fear, but I think how they handle their fear is very important. Whether it’s a father son relationship or something similar, men have a lot of people looking up to them for guidance. For example, I had always looked up to my dad for guidance my entire life. About two years ago he was diagnosed with stomach cancer and was given one year to live. My entire family was obviously terrified, but the reason we were able to get through it was the way he handled it. He always had a positive attitude no matter what was thrown at him. He handled his fear so well, even when his health was quickly declining. When he passed away it was now up to my mom, my sister and I. At the beginning, we weren’t very good at handling our fear of continuing our lives without him, but we are slowly becoming better.

            In conclusion, expecting men not to have any fear is absolutely unrealistic. Handling their fear on the other hand, is very important. Men are expected to set an example on how to handle one’s fear, which is ultimately one of the many lessons I learned from my dad. Learning how to handle your fear is a great way to improve yourself and overcome some of the most difficult challenges of your life.