Glenn – an example of a real man

This article was originally published on April 20, 2017.

In my college career, one of the most important things I've learned is to be a real man.

There are three kinds of men in this world: barbarians, wimps, and real men.

Barbarians and wimps are two opposite extremes when it comes to being a man. Barbarians are macho, arrogant thugs who use force to get what they want. In contrast, wimps are timid weaklings. They don't have the guts to take action.

Today's culture tells young men, especially Catholic BC men, that they are one of these two. But there's another way, a third man if you will.

Real men are somewhere in the middle of these two extremes. They practice manly qualities and true manliness on a daily basis—qualities such as courage, strength, perseverance, and the desire to improve oneself everyday and to protect those closest to you. 

Young men should strive to be real men.

One of those men is seen in the film medium.

Glenn from TV series "The Walking Dead" is one of those real men.

There are many good and bad things about "The Walking Dead." I'm focusing on one of the good.

When audiences first met Glenn, he was a wimp. He's the scavenger who uses his wits to stay one step ahead of the walking dead. Not much when it comes to fighting. But over the course of the series, we see Glenn step up and become the man he was always meant to be. The man he really is.

His change comes after he meets Maggie Greene, his future wife. While their lapse into non-marital relations is morally wrong, we see their friendship and relationship grow into true love.

Glenn changes because he now has someone he loves, someone in his life he truly cares about. He'd do anything to keep her safe.

He steps into a leadership role when the situation calls on him. A sign of real masculinity. After being taken prisoner and freed, he beats himself up because he wasn't able to protect Maggie. This shows his desire to protect his woman, as any good boyfriend or husband should.

Yet through that struggle, Glenn matures into a real man. That desire he has to be a strong protector and a true man allows him to step up and ask Maggie to marry him. He always wants to be there for her and to protect her, no matter how much physical, emotional, mental, or spiritual pain he endures. He is not the same man he once was; he is a better one (now).

He truly has the perseverance and strength to give his life up to Maggie as a selfless gift of himself for her good above his own.

When Glenn and Maggie are separated once again, only one thing drives him: finding Maggie and being reunited with her, no matter what the odds are. He has hope as faith that they'll see each other again and that he'll find her.

Every young man goes through that. It's part of who we are and what makes us real men who have what Pope St. John Paul II calls (in his Theology of the Body) "Masculine strength."

Glenn matured into a real man because of his experiences and his determination to keep that special someone safe.

BC young men can do that at every stage of their friendship with a young woman. They can be real men if they choose to. All it takes is taking that first step so that you can go the distance and walk the extra mile every day, starting today. In this moment. Right now.