what I've learned about men

          I was homeschooled throughout highschool and have recently had to integrate myself back into society through college. This school-year I actually made friends and I've learned a lot about how people behave. What has stuck out to me is the behavior of men, and in these few months I've become disillusioned with romance. I'll explain here what I've learned from strangers and friends.

          My introduction to womanhood has been the unwanted attention of men. These men are persistent and don't understand how their actions are perceived. It might be their young age which plays a role in their lack of understanding how others feel about their actions. If they approach you they get very close. I interpret their confidence to get close as intimidation. A man who was interested in me would follow me around campus, and what was innocent in his mind was terrifying to me. My rejection on one occasion was met with insistence that I give him my number and to end the uncomfortable situation quicker I gave it to him. In the many instances I've had with unwanted attention I haven't had the courage to clearly say, "no." I fear what an immature man can become when he feels rejected.

          My friends make mistakes as all people do, but the mistakes in relationships make me wary. A man can get very close to you emotionally and physically and leave the next second. I've also learned from some male friends of mine that a woman is less exciting once he actually has her. There's also the comment that people are growing, but must people hurt others to grow? I think that because men have been brought up in a society that tells them to repress emotions, they're often behind. Women are taught to value the feelings of others, maybe too much in a way that teaches her to ignore herself. The vast majority of men aren't taught to value the feelings of others in the same way and it ends up being something they ideally learn later in life.

          Of course though, every man is different and everyone is brought up in a different way and thinks in a different way.