The Southern Version of P Town

Originally Posted January 6, 2016

Hey ya'll!

I'm just coming back from one of the most amazing places in the world, Key West, Florida.

Being the southernmost point of the United States, it is WARM. It is a small island, known for Duval Street, and it's countless tourist attractions.

While these things alone would make Key West a great place to visit, the most amazing part of all was it's diversity and acceptance. While on the island, I noticed several different examples of their accepting community.

On the first day I arrived, while walking down Duval Street, the first thing I noticed was this:

RAINBOW CROSSWALKS! Are you kidding?!

Upon seeing these, I immediately knew my parents had chosen the right vacation spot.

The longer I was there, the more things I noticed that made me fall in love even more. Such as:

A poem found written on the sidewalk in Key West, Florida.




A sticker that could be found everywhere you look in Key West.

The sticker above was very popular in Key West. I found it stuck to street signs, and buildings, and just about anything you could image. On the top of the sticker it reads, "Everyone in the world can share the 'Official Philosophy of Key West, Florida.'"

It was really incredible to see how accepting and loving the people in Key West were. Everybody spread the word of anti-discrimination and acceptance. This non-profit organization devotes all of their efforts to ending discrimination. The stickers are always free, and they will send you as many as you want. To read more about the organization click the link below:

http://www.onehumanfamily.info/join-us/

Overall, the trip was absolutely incredible, and it felt amazing to be in a place where I could be myself without fear of judgment. I can't wait to go back.

National Coming Out Day

Originally Posted On October 11, 2015

Since yesterday was my 18th birthday, and National Coming Out Day was on October 11th, I thought that I would share my coming out story. At a recent GSA meeting, I struggled to do so, and I thought that it was time. So here it is...

During May of my junior year, my girlfriend and I got together. We decided to keep a secret for a while, because I had a boyfriend at the time, and when I was 14 years old I had a girlfriend, and when my mother found out she was not at all happy. She took everything away from me and made me feel disgusting for being with a girl. I did not want this to happen again, so I chose not to tell her.

My girlfriend and I started spending a lot of time together, and my mother began to notice. I continued to deny any sort of questions she asked about us. My anxiety started to get really out of control, because I was constantly being forced to hide.

One day I decided that I'd had enough.

I had been at a softball game with my girlfriend, and I could not handle the secrecy anymore. So I started telling all my friends about us, and I ignored my mothers phone calls. She continued to try to get ahold of me, but I refused to answer. I had to tell her in person.

I drove home after the game scared out of my mind. She's going to disown me. She's never going to speak to me again. I pulled into the driveway, and slowly walked in the front door. As soon as I did, the screaming began. "Where have you been? Why haven't you answered our calls? What is going on? Are you wearing Kendra's flannel?" They would not stop yelling and the tension inside of me was just building up more and more until finally I just screamed "I'm gay!" It felt incredible to finally say it. But only for a second.

My parents immediately went on rampage. Throwing things all across the house, breaking things, and just screaming at the top of their lungs. "Are you kidding me? How could you do this to us? You're just confused. You've been hanging out with the softball team too much, they're corrupting you. You are disgusting." It just kept coming.

I finally couldn't take it anymore, so I left. I walked out the front door and just started walking down the street at 11:00 p.m. I walked until I finally got to one of my friends houses, and I just started knocking on the door. Her mother finally opened it, looking confused. I just hugged her and began sobbing.

My mother called me later that night, telling me that I had to speak to a police officer. Somebody called the cops?  I had to tell him everything that happened that night, and eventually my mother agreed to let me stay with my friend for the night. I thought that everything might just get better.

Boy was I wrong.

The next morning my mother picked me up, and as soon as I got in the car the torment began all over again. She refused to let me drive my car to school. She spent the entire car ride telling me what a disgusting slut I was. She then told me that I could run and cry to whoever I wanted, but it wouldn't matter because if the police got involved again she would just tell them that I was an emotional, confused teenager who had threatened to hurt herself, in order to get me institutionalized. When I finally got to school, I thought I would be fine. As long as I was away from her, everything would be okay. But later that day, she dismissed me from school and took me to my doctor. Why? Because she thought that I was mentally unstable. She thought that I actually had something wrong with my brain that was causing me to do this.

The craziness continued for about another two weeks. When I finally was able to get ahold of my biological father. He told me that he would figure it all out. In the long run, I was able to safely move out of my mothers house, and into my fathers (not without my mother dragging us to court of course).

Long story short, (or not so short) I am extremely grateful to my father, and my stepmother. Without them, I have no idea where I would be right now. I am also extremely grateful to my girlfriend, and her entire family for being so accepting, and loving.

To anybody out there who is still stuck in the closet. It does get better. I can promise you that. I never thought it would, but now I am happier than ever. Coming out feels incredible, and if you are safe to do so, I highly encourage it. The world will come around. It has to, right?

Worcester Pride 2015

Originally posted on September 13, 2015

In honor of Worcester Pride...

This weekend was my first experience at a pride event, and it was absolutely incredible. The atmosphere was just filled with openness and happiness and love. For anyone still in the closet, or recently out, I highly suggest attending one of these events. It really puts things in perspective, and it really helps make you feel like you're not a freak. I met a lot of incredible people and really had a great time. I can't wait for the next one!

Labels Are For Soup Cans!

Growing up, being labelled is one of the toughest things that happens. As part of the LGBT community, I face this more and more. 

I personally, have been told that "I don't look gay." 

I'm honestly not quite sure what it means to "look gay" but the people who say such things are exactly the ones that feel the need to label us.

Now LGBT people are not innocent either. We have an astronomical amount of types and subtypes of LGBT people. 

For example, lesbians are never just lesbians. You've got butches, femmes, lipstick lesbians, chapstick lesbians, gold stars, blue jeans femmes. The list goes on and on (and they don't make any sort of sense). 

My point is, it doesn't matter who you love or how you dress. People are people. End of story. And they don't need any more labels. So save those for cans. 

I happened to stumble across this image, and it hit me really hard. The reality of the message is horrifying.

Gay people are not happy.

Research shows that depression affects LGBT people at a much higher rate than the general population.

Even more upsetting, the main sources of hate and discrimination against these people comes from school and home. Two of the places that are supposed to be the safest for kids. 

Gay Everyday

I found this and fell in love with it. Then the words in the middle changed, and I fell in love with it even more. 

Being gay is not a choice, and it won't change just because someone else wants it to. 

Once you're out, and finally able to be proud of yourself, it's the happiest feeling in the world. 

We've accomplished too much in the LGBT community to let it go to waste. I would hate to see all of these terrible things come back...