Boys Feel Sad Too - A BokuAkaKuroKen College AU

[Chapter Eleven]

Today's the day I present this assignment to my class. I was nervous. I could barely sleep because this was all I could think about.

I got dressed in ripped jeans, a random t-shirt, one of Kuroo's hoodies, and my converse. When I went to leave, Kuroo was sitting on the couch on his phone.

"Hey, good luck today." He said when he noticed I'd walked into the room.

"Thanks, Kuroo. I'll see you after class. I love you." I smiled.

"I love you too." He replied as I walked out the door with my bag. I headed to Starbucks, where Shoyo was behind the counter.

"Morning, Kenma!"

"Morning, Sho." I replied.

"Are you ready for your presentation?"

"As ready as I can be, I guess." I shrugged.

"Fair enough. What was your topic?"

"Men's mental health, how common it is for men to be told we're not allowed to be upset or depressed."

"Where'd you come up with that topic?" He asked.

"Experience." I said as I rolled up my sleeve to show a ton of fading scars. His eyes went wide. He walked around the counter and hugged me.

"You could've come to me, ya know. I'm proud of you for making it this far."

"Thanks Shoyo. I know I could've, I explained this to the guys too. I didn't want to be a bother. You all have your own lives and issues and don't need my issues on top of it."

"Oh, shush. Now get to class. Text me if you need anything." He said.

"Thanks, Sho." I grabbed my coffee and headed out to class.

××××

"Okay…Kenma Kozume? You're next." My teacher called. I took a deep breath and went to the front of the room with my paper.

Most of you were probably told that boys don't cry, boys don't feel negative emotions. That we're not allowed to feel those kinds of emotions. I'm here to tell you that that's wrong. We can feel sad and depressed just like any other person on this planet. On average, one in eight men will face depression in their lives.

Along with depression can come anxiety, intrusive thoughts, suicidal thoughts, and self harm. At least 35% of those that self harm are male. That's more than I thought when I'd looked for the numbers. I didn't think there were so many men who cut themselves or burned themselves, or used some other method.

As for suicide, men make up about 80% of all suicides. Again, a lot more than I was expecting.

I was one of those 35% that self harm. At one point in my life, I was almost part of that 80%.

Boys can feel sad. We don't have to bottle everything in. We don't have to hide how much we're hurting. It helps to open up to someone, whether that someone be a friend, teacher, significant other, a therapist, someone. You could save your own life by opening up to someone. You could save a life by being that someone that will listen and not judge someone and their feelings just based off of something as stupid as their gender.

This world is cruel, to both men and women. All of us can feel depressed or anxious. All of us can have intrusive thoughts. Just because you're a boy, doesn't mean you need to stay strong. It's okay to show weakness. It's okay to show your feelings. Showing your feelings is a healthy thing to do.

It's okay to cry, and be sad.

Boys Feel Sad Too.

~Word Count~
~596~