Take it slow and never stoop so low to try it, they said. Something talked about so badly since the day of birth, the idea hidden from children, something that can get you trapped behind cold metal bars and something so disappointing to the people around you. Crying, made illegal back in 2030.

          Crying used to be something we do when everything becomes overwhelming, when you're alone at night, when you're on your way to your crappy job, right before a family gathering, before Friday night’s big party, and sometimes even that same night. Until you risk your whole career, mental health, and how people view you. When they first made crying illegal no one really understood why. Now twenty years later I can tell you why and my personal experience.

          Crying was something people didn't really think much of, till the ban of it when the suicide rates went up because of guilt. Doctors began to research deeper into why these rates were rapidly increasing and soon found that when a person cries whether it was in their face or in private it has an emotional effect on the person who caused that.  The state made crying in private or public illegal because of the suicide rates because of guilt increasing.

          I, Mable Rodriguez, remember my experience after this ban so clearly back in 2031. I was only a freshman in high school when the ban on crying happened.

That year was a tough one for me, and I ended up finding myself crying every chance I got. It felt like such a relief after having been holding it back for so long the first time I did it. I knew addictions existed but I never thought mine would be this.

          The feeling of relief I felt after crying was worth any sentence in prison.

I would find myself crying in the school restroom, locker room, dining room, before school, after school, before work after work, and even during work. Felt so relieved after taking the crap from others all day. Until November 27th, 2031.

          November 27th, 2031, was the day everything changed. After getting yelled at by my father at 6 in the morning it was time to go to school. Many things have been building up within me. All I wanted to do was cry. Getting caught trying would result in punishments I couldn't imagine so as soon as the bell for 1st period rang i ran off to the restroom. Boom went to the bathroom stall door and a stream of emotion came flowing out my eyes. Don't get to cry as much because when I heard the clinging of keys coming into the restroom I rolled up paper towels to wipe the tears away. The scariest moment of my life, the Ap stopped at my stall and knocked. In a panic, the first place I thought to hide the tissue was my pocket.

With such calm I opened the stall door and asked what the problem was and before I knew it I was walking with that same AP to the office. Everything happened so quickly, they started asking me questions, looking through my backpack, checking my eyes and eventually searching me. The paper towel with all my tears was found in my pocket.

Click of the lock on my wrist was a sound I never forgot, and with no will to live or care for what would happen to me I was off to the station. Few moments later I was behind bars with people who also got caught crying. Bonded with them and we all agreed on the fact that it was so stupid to make crying illegal. But we couldn't change the law on our own. We waited years serving our time.

          Now it's 2050 and people are still fighting for their right to cry. I've been clean from crying for about 8 years now. I wish to spread the knowledge about that concept but such action has a very high risk of being back there again. So for now I can only share my story and hope with time the state realizes crying should be legalized in some sort of way. With barely any reduction in the suicide rates I still fight for the extremely needed legalization of crying.