The Weight of Being 'Okay': 𝐀𝐧 𝐀𝐩𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐌𝐞𝐧"

We see you now.❤️

Maybe not loud enough. Maybe not always clearly.

But slowly, we’re beginning to notice what the world made you carry in silence.

You were barely 25, still figuring out who you are,

when the world asked you to be the breadwinner.

There was no time to fall apart.

You were expected to rise. Provide. Protect.

Even if no one taught you how.

While we celebrated promotions and weddings,

you were calculating EMIs, insurance premiums, and how to get through the month.

And we’re sorry.

Because we never asked how you were holding up.

We’re sorry the world told you that tears are for the weak.

That being “the man” meant burying pain and smiling anyway.

That “boys don’t cry” became a rule, not a myth.

We watched you hold your breath through heartbreak,

stay silent through anxiety,

and keep showing up even when your soul was exhausted.

We mistook your silence for strength.

We never noticed it was survival.

You were taught to be brave.

Not gentle. Not vulnerable.

Not soft, even when you wanted to be.

Society made masculinity a checklist:

✅ Strong

✅ Stoic

✅ Successful

✅ Never tired

✅ Always okay

But no one put “human” on that list.

You gave so much of yourself to others— Parents. Sisters. Partner. Children.

And somehow, your worth was still measured in numbers:

Salary slips. Bank balance. Credit scores.

Your value became what you could give to the world—even to your own parents—not who you are.

And we’re sorry for that too.

Because we forgot to ask:

Who’s giving to you?

You became the man everyone leaned on.

But where do you lean, when the weight gets too much?

Who tells you that you’re doing enough?

Who reminds you that you’re allowed to be tired?

We watched you become everyone’s anchor

without checking if you were sinking.

So today, this isn’t a pity post.

It’s not a rescue attempt.

It’s just a whisper of recognition, from those who finally paused long enough to see.

We’re sorry that strength was your only option.

We’re sorry we looked at what you do and forgot to see who you are.

To every man silently surviving in a world that keeps asking for more:

We see you.

We honor you.

You matter—even when you’re not producing, providing, or pretending.

          You matter—just by being here.

---Nidhiya's Amma._