GLBTQAI

Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgendered, Questioning/Queer, Allied/Asexual, and Intersexed

Yesterday was the #DayofSilence. Hundreds of thousands of students nationwide took a vow of silence to bring attention to anti-LGBT name-calling, bullying, and harassment in their schools. As a proud supporter every year, I donned a sticker and watched proudly as handfuls of people around me, stronger than I am, stayed silent for the day.
It always moves me, seeing a bunch of people join together for something; working together for a common cause.

More than 30,000 Americans commit suicide each year, and 5,000 of these people are teenagers. 1 in 3 suicides amongst teenagers are committed by homosexual ones.

I proudly answered questions about the day, why I supported it, and explained any questions I could. I may be heterosexual, but we are ALL human. We are people. No one deserves to get bullied, no one deserves to feel so much pain that they feel like ending their life is the only answer. So if I can help in any way, shape, or form by answering a couple questions so that people are more informed, then that's what I'm going to do.

According to studies, homosexual teenagers are four times more likely to kill themselves than heterosexual teenagers, and eight if their parents are not accepting.

A girl, who I occasionally talked to stunned me that day. She flat out stated; "I hate gay people. They are disgusting." As I stared at her shocked the only response I could come up with was, "Why?" And she didn't have a response. "I don't know. I just do." I lost so much respect for her. Comments like that, hurtful statements. That is the reason why so many people feel scared to come out, ashamed.
It should not matter to anyone if someone was born with a penis and likes men, or was born with a vagina but knows in their soul that they are male. If every time you meet a new person you're looking at their pants instead of their eyes, you're not a good person. I'm gonna flat-out say it. I wouldn't care if I met someone who had two penises flailing around in their pants, it's the person inside. It's their soul, who they are that makes them a person. 

We all have one beating heart, skin; we cry, we smile and laugh and we feel. We are human. People. We hurt in the same ways.

I cannot fathom looking that girl in the eyes again, but I will. Cause I'm the bigger person, I understand that everyone is different, and factors play into everything we believe and don't believe. But I will not stand for bullying, for pain, just because two people of the same sex happen to be in love. Just because a guy wears a bra, shaves his legs and puts on heels. Bullying is unacceptable. Suicide is unacceptable. Another life lost to torture and pain is unacceptable. 

**Even though I cannot stand Arizona, this is cute.

I love food

Every culture has it's own specialty;
Russian Borscht, Italian Pasta, Spanish Rice
but every subculture has its own specialty too;
Your moms brownies, Grandmas soup, or even your younger cousins mud pies.

Me? I love food. I love to cook, I LOVE to eat
and I love to watch people cook. I will try anything once...and more than once...and more than twice. I feel it is impossible for me not to like a certain food, I just need to find the perfect combination.

"Trying new things adds years to your life"
I get kind of annoyed with people who refuse to try a food because it looks funny or they don't like an ingredient.

It's food! It has a 95% chance of being delicious...HOW DO YOU SAY NO?!
So yes it is a little awkward sometimes being the only one at the table ordering something I can't pronounce while others stay safe with a salad. Then I shovel it down, enjoying every last bite.
I love food, I love eating.
Pizza bores me, unless I'm in Italy, sitting on a beach 'Italian' Pizza in hand.
McDonald's is disgusting, as is all fast food.
I try new things, I'll combine the most random ingredients and it'll taste delicious, but it may have some awkward green color and others will run in the other way.
Give me rabbit, grasshopper and escargot. Excite me.

Maybe it's because I tend to take more risks in my every day life that I have no problem chowing down on some bull testicles. What's the worst that can happen? I'm not gonna die? Some cultures live off this stuff every day. Why be close minded? Because our society shelters us? No. I refuse to live in a closed off world.

So the next time someone offers you something slimy, green, and maybe even smelly don't say no.
Take it. Live life on the edge. It's only food.

You are who you are

So sociologists and psychologists have this whole thing with "Nature" v "Nurture", are we who we are because we are born that way, or is the society around us what molds us into the horrible monsters angels that we are?
Me? I'm more for Nurture. Sure we can be born with some things (ie. diseases) but many are easy to change. Nurture on the other hand, nurture is everything. It's what you see, what you learn. It is you.

Would you be who you are today if you had different parents? If you were raised in a different country?
If I never watched a single episode of Grey's Anatomy, if my mother wasn't a heartless, cold [insert really bad word], if I were to have had friends when I was younger instead of creating my own worlds, and writing; would I still be me?
No, I'd be a different me.

Yes, I was born with blue eyes and blonde hair, that is my 'nature', but No that doesn't make me who I am. There are colored contacts, there is hair dye––which I am a prominent user of; and why do we change ourselves? Because society tells us to, in little itty bitty hints, whenever a new show or movie or ad comes out. 'Be skinny' They tell us 'Eat Organic'.
Everywhere you turn, bam, society, shoving helpful hints of who you should be and what you should eat, wear, do.

Me? I'm outgoing, but I blush like a madwoman even when I don't actually feel embarrassed...I have nightmares about television shows and I care way too much about fictional characters. I like blood, dead people, I have a passion for writing but all those things about me, they would be different. If even just one thing had been changed about my life when I was younger, things would be different.

This I Believe

In life, it is said, that you are your biggest competition. So what do you do when you have to defeat your biggest competition? Do you go around punching yourself, or let one side of you win? Is it even possible to defeat a part of you without loosing yourself completley?
To believe is to have confidence in the truth, the existence, or the reliability of something without absolute proof that one is right in doing so.
You can believe in a god, in a religion, in your family, the earth, science...but ultimately if you do not have that belief in your self, can you get anywhere in life?
I believe in what I can see, what I can touch, what is presented in front of me. The sky is blue because that's what my eyes tell me it is, a rock doesn't bounce because when I throw it on the ground it doesn't bounce. Facts. Now I'm not saying that anything out of reach isn't real, I believe that a miracle can happen now and then. We can get lucky and miraculously heal from a deadly disease, land a man on mars, all that hubbub, but it doesn't happen often. So why put your belief to chance?  
I've grown up around people who have a strong belief in heaven, in god, that their life is some kind of 'test' in order for them to prosper when they die. Before, it used to bug me, because I didn't get it, because I didn't share the same belief.
They believe in God and Religion like I believe that Mark and Callie (from Grey's) belong together. Two very different things, but one passion.
 So in the end when you look at yourself in the mirror you have to realize that you're looking at your biggest enemy, your biggest competition, and your biggest support system. Ultimately, you have to believe in yourself. Believe that you believe that the sky is blue, but someone may see it as purple. Believe that you don't believe in a god, but a friend prays to one every day. And if just for a moment you start doubting yourself, have the ability to beat yourself, don't change your beliefs for anyone but yourself, because you are the one that matters. Believe in your beliefs. Believe in yourself