March 9th, 2014 "A Letter to My Male Students"

My dear boy: I wish I could tell you what women want, but I do not know what I want so I can
not hope to speak for the rest of my kind. I do know this: your words are more powerful than your fists; you can build worlds or break them with your mouth. Use this wisely. Your strength is most manifested by your restraint; when you walk away from a fight, you are at the height of your masculinity. Child, know this above all things about women: no girl can affirm or deny your manhood; it simply is. It is as sure as the sunrise and as magnificent too. Your heart may break, but it is not broken in the way a window breaks, but rather in the way your muscles break when you build them, break and build, break to build, until you are very strong and very steady and very sure, and alive enough to still feel every beat. It is not true that "behind every great man is a great woman". What is true is this: behind every great man is the little boy with big eyes who dreamed him into existence. Dreams are the bravest thoughts we have. Do not hide yours. You are kings. Make your eyes soft when you look into the eyes of others (but do always look them in the eye) because not everyone can bear the weight of such glory. Remember who you are, and even if no one has told you, I am telling you now: a king is no less a king because he has forgotten his lineage.