she read an article entitled
’16 things real men do’…
no man she’d ever known
had done even four of them
rereading, she found
that the article implied
that ‘real women’ could make
‘real men’ out of
‘mere boys’
so, she thought, maybe
it was her fault that
she knew no real men
so, she asked her trainer,
who was himself a man,
what he thought
he told her he thought the article
was ‘real stupid’
nonetheless,
willingness to settle for partners
who behave selfishly
is indeed a problem far too prevalent
he said that
when people quit focusing
on what ‘real men’ or ‘real women’ do
and focus instead on
what ‘just everyday people’ ought to do
we’d get closer to something like
a useful bit of information
–
she asked him, though,
if he thought she’d ever meet someone
who she would want to marry, and
who would want to marry her…
and he said, “yes, sure, but
you are perfectly fine
as you are..
live a life that matters
and
little else will”
