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.