I cry a lot. At happy things. At sad things. At just about anything. From random acts of kindness that touch my heart to an emotional moment of Queer Eye, it doesn't take much for my feelings to find their way to the surface.

I'll admit, being emotional can be inconvenient at times. In public situations or serious moments when crying isn't appropriate, I feel as though I'm making a fool out of myself when I can't control my outward expressions.

I've always considered being emotional to be my biggest weakness because that's what society has conditioned me to think. I can't tell you the number of times I've heard phrases like "Don't take things so personally," "You're a crybaby," and "Why are always you so sensitive?"

I've always tried to hide my emotions, but being a highly sensitive person, it has never worked. This made me feel like there was something wrong with me.

So when I became friends with someone who was emotionally detached, I admired his ability to never let anything get to his head. He never talked about his problems and whenever something horrible happened, he never seemed to even flinch. It seemed as if he could control his feelings as easily as flipping a switch.

I remember being jealous. All my life I had dreamed of being stoic and unmoved by life's troubles. After an emotional breakdown, I told my friend that I wished I could be as strong as him. He told me something that changed my entire worldview.

He said, "Your emotions are what make you strong. I like that you can only take so much shit before you have to let it out. It's good to have a healthy understanding of where you are mentally. It's hard for me to outwardly express myself, but you make it easier."

In that moment, I realized that sometimes it's in our greatest weaknesses that we find our greatest strengths.

Being emotional makes me a supportive friend. Since I am so in touch with my emotions, I am able to put myself in the shoes of others easily and can understand them at a deeper level. I can relate to anyone and everyone and I have the capacity to truly care and help others navigate through their hardships. People are comfortable opening up to me about their feelings because they know that I am outward about my own and won't judge them for it.

If I can inspire emotionally unavailable people to open up when they're struggling, it's worth all the embarrassment of being known as "that girl who cries all the time."

When that same friend opened up to me about going through depression, I realized that the way I viewed him was entirely wrong. I saw my sensitivity as a sign of weakness when in reality, it's a sign of strength.

Just because someone doesn't outwardly express how they're feeling, that doesn't mean that they aren't struggling. Often times, it is the people who seem the most carefree and composed that are struggling the most. Sometimes people want to open up, but they just don't know how.

I feel foolish for ever wishing that I could be unemotional. At that time, I didn't understand the dangers of emotional avoidance.

When people experience hard times, their natural reaction is to shut off their emotions in an attempt to protect themselves. They feel that if they ignore something long enough, it'll just go away. But it won't. The feelings just build up until they can't handle them any longer.

Emotional avoidance is a coping strategy that many people find themselves doing naturally, however, studies have shown that people who suppress their negative emotions are much more likely to experience things like anxiety and depression.

When people try to avoid their emotions, they usually end up experiencing more of the exact thing they were trying to escape in the first place.

I couldn't suppress my emotions if I tried, but maybe that isn't such a bad thing. I am someone who is in touch with my feelings, no matter what they are. I have learned to love that.

I am not afraid to be vulnerable. Vulnerability isn't easy, but it's necessary. Without fully embracing vulnerability, it is impossible to live freely and happily.

Being emotional isn't always something that I've loved about myself, but at the end of the day, my feelings are a reminder that I'm human and that I'm capable of emotion. My emotions are what make me

me and I wouldn't them for the world.