When assigned to write an essay about manhood, I was stumped. What does manhood really mean? So, I sat down and looked up manhood in the dictionary. Unfortunatley it wasn't a great help, the definition it gave was, "the state of being a man." So with that great dissapointment of an easy definition, I really started to think of all the attributes I thought was involved in being a man. There were three outstanding points that came to my mind. A million dollar salary? No. Being a celebrity in the public eye? No. Responsibility? Yes. Should I have a high sense of honor? Hell yes. Could a real man love? Absolutely. Why was it these three thoughts kept repeating in my mind over and over? Well, here's why.

For seventeen years I had no real sense of responsibility. I mean the only thing I was responsible for was dirtying up my room, or getting up on time to watch Saturday morning cartoons. And during those seventeen years I had no idea of what my father was sacrificing just to provide for his family. Working long hours at a low paying job just to provide for his children and wife. Setting aside his pride, he got on welfare just to make ends meet, clothe his children, and put a roof over our heads. We even got on food stamps for a time, and standing in line for hours on the weekend to get free cheese was a common activity even though it was quite embarrassing for my father. But, the love for his family drove him to responsibility, no matter how depressing it was, or how embarrassing it was. I learned from my father that sticking to your convictions, your responsibilities, be it providing for your children, paying rent, taking care of bills, or a simple task of buying a new pair of shoes for yourself, can be a very rewarding in the end with a sense of accomplishment and pride and yes, the feeling of being a man.

Along with responsibility, a man must have honor. To me, no real man would be without honor. Honor binds a man to his word, something everyone can trust won't be broken because of his strong dedication to his honor. High moral standards that can't be shaken because of its concrete foundation, his honor, which drives him to strive to do the right thing. The funny thing is that when pondering the thought of honor, a TV program came to my mind. Star Trek the Next Generation was a great inspiration for honor because of the character Worf, a Klingon who would rather give up his life than go against his word, or do the wrong thing to a friend or foe. He was always striving to do the honorable deed no matter what the cost was. Please, don't laugh, Worf wasn't the only one giving me my sense of pride, my best friend Jeff has instilled upon me the value of not lying, no matter how big the mistake may be. Seeing him swallow his pride on a few occasions and admit he was wrong has made an impression on me that will last my whole lifetime. No matter what the cost or loss of face, a real man will do the honorable thing.

Last but certainly not least is love and all its attributes. How can a man be without love? To me its impossible. Love is strength. And strength fortifies all the other valuable virtues that a man needs to have. My dear friends whom I love with all my heart that I could never let down, and likewise for them. My family. After what they went through to give me everything they could possibly give me, and loved me enough to protect and care for me in such a ruthless "dog eat dog" world, how could I consider myself a man if I didn't love them? I couldn't. If I didn't love my family and friends so much, the rest of my other qualities would crumble to nothing, leaving me a honorless, loveless, senseless, wimpy, dopey human being with nothing but myself.

So even though I don't have a million dollar salary, and even though I'm not a world famous celebrity, with all the riches in the world, I have a few manly qualities that money can't buy and golddiggers can't take. I'm priceless in the sense that I recognize and accept my responsibilities, I will always make a conscious effort to do the honorable deed, even at the cost of losing face, and I have the strength of love and will willingly share it to any and all who deserve it because I'm a man.