so this past thursday was spirit day in honor of bullying, specifically lgbtq bullying.  on this day this year, america found out about another young, gay teen who took his life because he couldn’t deal with the bullying any longer.  every time i hear about a young person committing suicide due to these factors, my heart breaks a little bit more.  

i have to wonder, does anyone see through what these kids are being put?  how can anyone allow the bullying to get so bad toward them that they feel the only way out is to take their own life.  i rack my brain on a daily basis trying to figure out how i can positively affect these young lives, what kind of a thing i can do to make a difference.  i have to remember that it takes more than one voice to make a difference, but i also have to remember that if one person doesn’t start, no one will.

so this is my challenge to all of you reading this:  do something today to make a difference.  do something every day to make a difference.  collaborate with others.  take a stand.  stand up for every person.  we will make this world a better place to live.  we can do it.  one voice at a time.  we will make that one voice thousands of voices.  let’s start a movement and change things for the better.

so i know it is no longer national coming out week, but i still would like to reflect on what happened during ncow, at least on my campus.  our straight and gay alliance, of which i am a part, had an entire week of activities planned to raise awareness and support, despite the fact that it was also homecoming week here.  some of those activities included:  a table selling “love is love” t-shirts in a variety of colors in the campus center all week, a photo shoot on ncod, a coming out panel discussion, a movie night, and a pizza party.

i think the most moving part for me was the coming out discussion.  it entailed faculty members and students giving their coming out stories and then a discussion after about the process and what not.  i asked my best friend to come to the panel with me, which she did, as she has been very supportive, and she said it was a real eye-opener.  when the discussion was over and we were back in my room, the first thing she did was give me a hug and tell me that if i ever need anything that she was there.  she also told me that she didn’t realize before how difficult it is on a daily basis for lgbtq people and how it was a struggle just because we aren’t straight. (because that should be the issue…)  it just baffled her that we’re consistently treated like second-class citizens, mainly because she knows that the only way it makes us different as people is that we tend to be more open-minded.  that made me happy.

the other awesome part of ncow was national coming out day.  on ncod we had a photo shoot where anyone could write whatever they wanted on a whiteboard and have their picture taken in front of a poster saying “i’m coming out as…”  it was so inspiring to see all the different people who participated in this event.  two of my favorite ones were someone who held a whiteboard that stated, “my gay roommate said this would mean a lot to him.”  and another that said, “it got better.” 

it was such an inspirational week.  the entire week gave me hope that this generation will make things better.  they will change this country and change the world.  we are educated and engaged young adults and wish equal rights and equitable rights for all.

right now i’ve decided i need to get this heart off the top of my blog and just throw something out there about me i suppose.

i don’t like hearts.  unless they’re hand hearts or “less than three’s.”  which is why i want the heart not at the top of my blog.  kinda throws people off.

i like coffee.  it makes me smile in the morning.  and it smells delicious.

i like boys and i like girls.  yes.  that’s right.  i’m bisexual.  i like that i’m bisexual.  really.  i do.  it’s something unique about me.  it’s something that allows me to be me and do something to help the world.  

if i wasn’t bi, i probably wouldn’t be as adamant about equal rights and equitable opportunities for all.  though maybe i would.  i have changed a lot in the past few years (shocking, i know).  but really folks, what’s wrong with equal rights?  that’s right, absolutely nothing.  if i marry my girlfriend, it is not going to cause your husband to divorce you and your kids to start shooting meth.  i know, i find that hard to believe too.

though it is all the fault of gay men (in the united states, mind you) that over ninety percent of hiv/aids infected people live on the continent of africa.  and are native to the continent of africa.  wait, oh no, it’s not. it’s not the fault of gay men here in this nice little old country of ours.  though many conservatives would have you think so.

it also disappoints me that, possibly in order to get voters on their side, all but one of the presidential candidates state that they are opposed to gay marriage in the united states.  i don’t feel like it’s that big of a deal.  one’s sexual orientation doesn’t change the person they are, it just changes who they are attracted to and fall in love with.

whoah.  life changing.  

i’m out.