Earlier today on my campus a preacher came with a sign that called out people for being "sinners" and all I could think was that no one is a sinner. Especially if they are still young and still kids learning how to live on their own. I was told when I was young that no one was above another person. No one was ever done learning thing. There was always another person who was smarter, more athletic, more beautiful, more talented, but even knowing that I should still get up every day and be myself. I was encouraged to go to school and learn all that I could. That's when I made my friends.
Most of my friends are awkward and shy and introverted but I never saw them that way. I saw them as lonely, sitting alone at the lunch table looking down and scared because they were terrified of all the kids in class. I wanted to be their friend and help them be less afraid. They were free to be whoever they wanted to be because they had me as a friend and they knew they could trust me to have their backs no matter what. My best friend stayed pretty shy up until high school where she really bloomed and started dating people. I've never seen her happier than the day she finally admitted she was dating her significant other and I sat down and talked to her about even though she had been distant for several months.
She told me she was scared I'd stop being her friend because of who she was dating and I looked her in the eye and said: "It doesn't matter who you choose to date as long as you are happy and I will support you no matter what because you are my best friend." That fact has never changed with me from when I was 7 years old making real friends for the first time or when I'm 19 making a new set of friends at college. My best friends can be gay, lesbian, straight, pansexual, bisexual, or completely against relationships and I will still see them as people because they are being themselves and I am friends with them for them. The way they live their lives is up to them and they deserve to be happy just like me and no one should ever be unhappy because they can't be themselves.
I live my life constantly outraged that people can be so cruel as to tell a child their feelings are invalid because they have feelings for the wrong kind of people according to the judgments passed by a random individual. The man that came to my campus claiming to be a preacher with a sign that had a list of people who in America have rights just the same as everyone else but was telling us, college students who are still learning and trying to better our lives, that we are sinners and we will go to hell and be judged for mistakes we might not even see as mistakes.
Am I wrong to respect my homosexual friends because they are the most honest and real people in my life?
Am I wrong for understanding that life can be hard for some people and life gets too real to fast and they might need a few drinks to cope every now and then?
Am I wrong for thinking that if someone wants to be sexually active at late high school, early college ages that are perfectly fine because being sexually active is something everyone can experience and it can a great stress reliever?
I have no care in the world what your religion is, I am a Jewish girl who struggles to believe in G-d who has friends that are all kinds of denominations of Christian or Muslim or Agnostic or Atheist. I have no care in the world whether you are Bisexual, Pan-sexual, straight, gay/ lesbian.
You are all people!
There is nothing wrong with being yourself. In fact, there is nothing stronger a person can do but admit that they are different in a world full of so much hate. The sad part is that I can't relate to my friends' struggles. I am straight, in a happy strong relationship, and I get along alright with my family. I don't have to keep secrets for fear of being rejected or lie about why a person is sleeping over at my house. I don't have to be judged so harshly by a world that is blind to individuality. Despite my best efforts, my friends still suffer and I wish I could do anything to help them be happier but every time I see them smile or see them holding hands with the person they love I just feel my heart swell with happiness.
They are my friends and they are no different from me. There shouldn't be a divide in peoples minds saying that if a person is different than they are wrong. It is not a sin to be in love. It is not a sin to be happy. It is not a sin to be yourself. And if you think anything in this article applies to you please understand that there is nothing wrong with you, there is so much wrong with this world. Please remember there are people out there who understand your struggles and you are not alone. I hope you all have a friend that is in some way like me who just sees the person. A friend that sees a lonely person who needs a friend. A friend that doesn't see you like your beliefs but sees you as a real person who can make their life so much happier as my friends have.
Don't give up your fight and give in to their hate. Stay true to yourself and enjoy your life because you are so much better than anyone could imagine.
