My whole life I have been described as "overly emotional". The earliest I can remember being really emotional was when I first started going to elementary school and I would cry before getting on the bus because I didn't want to leave my parents. Since then I've had a lot of moments where people have criticized me for reacting emotionally to situations that arise.

Yes, I'm the person that always cries at the movies.

Whether the movie has a sad ending where the family dog dies or even if the movie has a happy ending where the family gets reunited if you look at me at the end of a movie 9/10 times I am crying.

Yes, I'm the person that cries at the things at the sad commercials and sad videos that come online. I'm the person who cries when Rachel comes back for Ross at the end of Friends.

Yes, I'm the person that gets overly excited over the little things like the fact that we're having pizza for dinner. I'll act as if I've just won the lottery when in reality we're just having frozen pizza from the grocery store. Yes, I'm the person who worries about everything. I won't go to sleep until I know you're home safe.

I'll check up on you a million times when you're sick to make sure you're okay. I'm the person that worries about the little 1% possibility of something happening.

Yes, I'm the person who will get overly excited to see you even when we just saw each other yesterday. I'm the person who will hug you and squeeze you tight no matter if I've known you for 19 years or if I just met you 15 minutes ago.

I've been like this my whole life.

While the people I know have learned to embrace it, I commonly have a negative reaction to the fact that I have so many emotions that I openly express. I find that most people tell me to chill out.

I've been criticized for sharing too much with others and a lot of people have encouraged me to suppress my emotions to avoid looking crazy or weird.

For a long time, I listened to those around me. I was ashamed to be so emotional. I believed I was strange for feeling my emotions so powerfully and so intensely.

After a while, I learned that being emotional was not a curse but instead was a blessing. The fact that I am what is considered "overly emotional" means that I have a big heart with a big capacity to love and care for others.

My ability to express emotions simply comes from the fact that I am striving to show others that they are loved by me and by Christ.

Are there downsides to being emotional? Of course. There are downsides to everything. When you have a big open heart, people are going to judge you and people are going to take advantage of you. You're going to find yourself picking up the pieces from your broken heart and constantly having to repair it.

But is it worth it?

To me, being emotional is so worth it. It allows me to connect with people and to show them that I care about them. It allows me to be truly happy and allows me to embrace the person that I am. I'm done hiding behind the screen that society tells me to hide behind.

If you're considered "overly emotional" and people criticize you for it, don't let people discourage you from being your true self. God has made you the person you are for a reason and you're only going to be truly happy if you embrace the person you truly are versus the person that society tells you to be.

Your ability to show your emotions and to express them does not show weakness but instead shows your strength to love others unconditionally. There's nothing wrong with being emotional and you should never be ashamed to show who you truly are.