I've been hearing about a few things in the LGBT community that are really making me angry. You know, we don't do anything harmful to anyone, so why do people muster up so much hate for us? You could be transferring all that hate and passion into something else, rather than hating a community that wants nothing more than equal rights.
First and foremost, I heard a story about an A+ student heading in a bright, fortunate direction, but her school forced her to leave after she came out to them as lesbian. Here's a small article about it.
Why does it matter that she is lesbian? Does that have some negative influence on whether or not you believe she can be a brilliant student? We're not inhuman. We think just like every other human does, and I don't believe anyone would do such a thing. Our orientation has nothing to do with how we perform academically, professionally, or in society. We're still human.
The next thing that really made me angry had to do with the repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell. A brave, strong-willed woman decided to tweet exactly how she felt about the situation. Here's the tweet:
First of all: who are you to say whether or not God is pleased? Is he sending you messages in your hateful head? I would think that this is why Christians get a bad image, and these are some of the reasons why gays/bisexuals/lesbians are still considered a minority. My other thought on this is...how will this end the earth? Because we're allowed to be open about our orientation in the military, God is just going to smite us all? I just found this to be the most ridiculous bit of ignorance I've seen.
Also, in response to that, there are a few states that allow same-sex marriages, and in fact, many people have married their same-sex partner. So my question to the bible thumpers are: If these have happened, and God is so against it, why won't he smite us all? Oh, right, because instead, we're just going to burn in Hell. Totally forgot that!
I had to get that out of my system, because the ignorance of our country as a whole is starting to become more and more real as I see this things being said. I can't, for the life of me, comprehend why people harbor such hate for the LGBT community, when we just want equal rights. I just wish I knew how they could sleep at night, as their blood pumps hate throughout their entire body.
In light of National Coming Out Day (which was yesterday, but it's National Coming Out Week at my school, so all your arguments are invalid), I decided I would post about that major turning point in any Gay, Lesbian, or bisexual individual's life: Coming out.
Now from what I've seen and experienced, the reaction is either on or the other. The people you come out to can be accepting, or they won't. There's no "Well, I suppose I'm okay with it, only IF..." No. In my experience, that will turn into not accepting the individual. Because this can go either way, this is never an easy task for anyone. Hell, even to this day, I still get nervous when I tell new people that I'm gay. You just never know if that person will immediately turn you down, simply because of your sexual orientation.
It's really upsetting that there are even people that won't accept their gay child. Also, it's upsetting that some people just can't accept a gay person in general. I was told by my friend, who was telling his mother about a play that was going on at school, something she said. He was mentioning that one of the students in our school was playing a gay character, and the actor himself is gay. His mother then says "That's a shame." He asked for clarification, and then she said "It's a shame that you have gay people at your school." It's things like this that make coming out the most challenging thing in these people's lives. When they're surrounded by people like this, it can result in one of two things. They can either:
A.) Keep themselves "in the closet", never feeling as if they're allowed to truly be who they are.
B.) Become discouraged or hurt because once they're out, because their "choice" just isn't right.
People get bullied because of their sexuality, and if you keep up with the LGBTQ community, you know about the handful of teen suicides because of ignorant acts like this.
After bringing up our "choice", I thought of another point. It's somewhat off-topic, but I feel like it needs to be addressed. I'm sure that, when coming out, someone could be asked "Why are you choosing to be gay/bisexual/lesbian?" This really gets to me, because this is definitely something you don't choose. I'll admit, I would never choose being gay, because love lives don't come as easily for us. We don't have it the hardest, but it's definitely not all peaches and gravy. No one in their right mind would CHOOSE to be gay, and when someone says that we "choose" it, it really just makes my skin crawl. "Do you choose to be straight?"
I had to keep that short, or I'd be going forever.
If you're thinking about coming out, I have a few tips that might be good for you. This is mostly coming from my own experience, and from what I see happening with others.
1. I've noticed that, in this day in age, the teens and young adults are more accepting. If your friends seem to think that being gay/bisexual/lesbian is okay, then go for it. It's better to be out to a few than to no one at all.
2. Test the water with your parents. If they tend to have old fashioned views, maybe just mention things about the gay community. If they don't seem okay with it, maybe wait until you're not under their care, and you've got yourself settled and independent before you come out. You just never know what could happen to you if you're still in their care, and they find out that you're gay.
3. If you don't think you can find anyone to come out to, find a local group of some sort. I'm not very knowledgeable on what kinds of groups there are, but if you're in a college setting, there's bound to be a club you can join where you can be open and makes some friends while you're at it.
I don't have all the answers, but I certainly like to think I do when it comes to this subject. Like I said, it's never an easy thing to do. Once you do come out, though, it changes your life, whether it's for better or worse.
Song of the Week!
So this is, yet again, a song by The Bird and the Bee. I've been obsessed with this band for a few weeks now, and I'm pretty sure this is my favorite of their songs now. It's called "Again and Again" (as you can see), and for some reason, I kind of feel like I can relate to this song.
We all have something we aspire to be in the future. For some, it's something that can be easily attained, and for everyone else, it's dreaming big. It gives us something to look forward to, and something that can drive us through our lives. For me, I aspire to be a famous, published author.
I'm sure most of you already knew this, but that's something that would be a dream come true for me. There's just a pleasure I get from writing that I don't get from anything else. I love creating fictional worlds with diverse characters. I love it so much, I almost get enveloped in it, and this doesn't bother me one bit. Hell, I could probably get lost in my writing for a whole day if I wanted to. (The most I've ever spent writing in a day is 9-ish hours).
I love writing so much, I obsess over how well I do it. (You may be able to relate this next section to something you love to do.) When I write, I feel like I'm doing amazing things. The words are flying across the page, the description is coming to life, and I'm feeling great. Right the minute someone wants to read it, or it needs to be presented, my mindset immediately turns to "Oh my lord. They're gonna hate it. I just know it. Everything sucked. Gah!" Naturally, as a human being, that's just how things go.We want to perfect our things that we're good at, and we stress over what other people will think of it.
If I want to become published, though, I have to be patient. Apparently, publishing companies are very picky about the things you send in. It makes sense, of course, because they want to make sure people will actually buy the books. Not only that, but I'd have to work my tail off on a kick-butt novel or short story. Even then, I'd have to make sure that people would actually like the book. So let's see...I'd probably need a literary agent, and then a publicist (if I REALLY want to be famous)...dang. Becoming a famous, published author is gonna be expensive!
So there's my passion, all out there for you to read about. I'm sure you have one too, and if you do, I want to hear about it! Comment on this post about something you dream (or dreamed) of becoming. I'd love to hear what you have to say!
My Song of the Week!
So this is a band called The Bird and the Bee, and I've been obsessing over them for a while. This is my favorite of their songs, and probably their most popular. They just have such a unique sound, and I always feel so happy when I listen to them. (And it's NOT in a foreign language!)
