Just to be clear, some of the boys would like to cover a few things to explain how boys feel when around you.

Number 1, you all are probably wondering why we come off as having an Alpha male persona. This is because boys, in general, are raised like programmed beings without emotional freedom. According to Claire Cain Miller’s op/ed in the New York Times {How to Raise a Feminist Son} “Even as we’ve given girls more choices for the roles they play, boys’ worlds are still confined, social scientists say. They’re discouraged from having interests that are considered feminine. They’re told to be tough at all costs.”

Girls are often told how many possibilities they have as individuals – they can be or do whatever it is that they please. Boys aren’t raised the same. Have you ever found it interesting that toddlers, boy or girl, cry equally as much? Yet, when they reach a young age and know their gender roles, it’s suddenly taboo for us?

Number 2, high school is just as socially difficult for us as it is for you.

From a personal standpoint, I came from a middle school that only had 30 students in our grade, of which 10 were girls. Coming to Sequoia freshman year was no easy task, because most of my middle school peers went to different high schools. Talking to girls was very difficult; I didn’t know how I was being perceived or who they wanted me to be, and I still don’t know. I always find myself acting like someone that I’m not. My point being, I came across as the nice guy, and I found that girls weren’t attracted to me. Now I find myself being someone who I don’t like.

So girls, here’s a few pointers on how to understand guys’ actions the next time you’re around us. Most of the time when we’re talking to you, we’re trying to impress you. It’s not because we inherently want to, but it’s how we’ve been taught to act as we’ve grown up. More importantly, just ignore us most of the time when our hormones go crazy.

Just remember that even though we don’t cry, we still have emotions. Guys often think that girls are mad at guys because we have no emotional connection to a certain topic but this entirely untrue. If we show our emotions, in some respect, it’s a sign of weakness and it’s something that guys really don’t do.