A wise man once said, “the Holidays are a very emotional time.” I know it sounds silly and vague, but to him, it really meant something. To him, the Holidays contained a lot of memories and a certain aura that he could not shake. His past and present bombarded him with all of these feelings that he couldn't understand and associated the Holidays with this sensation. What he failed to realize, however, is that the Holidays aren't the only time that this happens.
Women, especially, are bombarded by feelings and memories constantly. I, personally, cannot walk into my bedroom without remembering all the times I have sat in there and cried by myself, danced to music, shouted out loud, talked to friends, read the most amazing stories, spent hours on homework and school, spent days doing nothing, and everything else that has happened inside that room. These memories bring back feelings of solitude, depression, joy, excitement, nostalgia, and wonder. This happens so much so that I cannot walk into my own bedroom without being bombarded by feelings and each time I'm in there I'm experiencing a different feeling and creating a new memory.
Our emotions certainly are more stimulated during the Holidays because of stress, excitement, joy, sorrow, etc. But emotions are always there, and they follow us wherever we go.
Our feelings can scare us at times, because they are so difficult to tame. Sometime they run rampant and create chaos in their wake. When we feel something and act on it the act can create unfortunate consequences. From that moment on, we label the feeling as “bad.” This is a mistake.
Feelings aren't bad. We have feelings for a reason. Feelings make us who we are. This is not coming from some psychologist or expert on the human emotions, but it is coming from me, a teenage girl who has had to deal with rampant emotions her entire life.
I can't tell you how many times I have randomly broken out crying in front of someone for reasons beyond my comprehension. I've gone into fits of rage and screamed at pillows for the wrong they've caused me. I often laugh out loud at my own thoughts without realizing it. I am a very emotional person. But this doesn't necessarily make me an unstable individual who needs to be institutionalized (although it might...). I've simply had to learn where and when are the best places and times to express my feelings.
There are times when acting on an emotion is completely acceptable and embraced. Laughing, for example, when you hear a funny joke is perfectly okay. Crying when someone you love has hurt you is almost necessary. Hunting down and bringing to justice someone who has wronged thousands of people is supported by all.
There are times, however, when you can't act according to your feelings. Falling in love with someone who is already in a relationship isn't wrong, but breaking up that person's relationship in order to bring him or her to you is unacceptable. Being bitter and angry at someone who has hurt you is normal, but hunting them down and killing everyone they love, torturing their family, and making them die a slow, horrible death is not okay.
Sometimes our feelings can be so strong, the need to act on them is too much to handle. These are the times when you need to back off from the situation and not give yourself any room to act. There was one time that I was in a public place, tons of people were hounding me with questions, opinions, and concerns so that I felt I was about to scream or cry or beat someone up. I ran out as fast as I could, hid in a quiet place, and waited until I could calm down. Sure, people thought I was weird, but at least no harm came to them. And my reputation hadn't been altered too much. Only because I knew my emotions were getting out of control and I knew how to rein them in was a disaster was avoided.
I could practically write a thesis on emotions and feelings. What I really want to say, however, is this; don't let anyone tell you that what you're feeling is “bad”. Just know how and when to act on your emotions and you'll be fine. It takes a lot of work, and even after 19 years, I've still got a long way to go.
