In Honor Of "Coming Out Day" | The Odyssey Online
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Politics and Activism

In Honor Of "Coming Out Day"

Why you and the groups you identify as are valid.

Corby Smith
Oct 18, 2016
Delaware College of Art and Design
34
In Honor Of "Coming Out Day"
Wikipedia

National Coming Out Day was this past Tuesday, so I thought I'd share some thoughts.

First off, I'm so proud of anyone who came out this past week because of Coming Out Day, or anyone that is celebrating a coming-out-anniversary. You are brave and amazing and you deserve to love or not love whoever you want. You deserve to be in the body and the assigned gender that feels right for you. You deserve to be able to say no, and if you haven't come out yet, know that it's okay. There will be a time when you feel safe and secure enough to do so. There will be someone or a group of someones that will come along and make you feel good about yourself and will support your choices and will ultimately help you to live your best life.

I'm so happy that I'm apart of a community (school, work, and family/friends) that will support me no matter what, but I know this is not always the case. If you don't have a support system or a group in which you feel safe to be you, just know that there are so many people out there who are struggling in similar ways. In this day and age, I like to think we are moving forward, however slowly, to be more positive and ethical and understanding of the human condition. But I know that's not entirely true, so here is my tip to you: anyone who is vicious or mean and refuses to even try to understand another's point of view is not worth your time. If you think you can help them become less ignorant, then great! If not, don't waste your time or energy because it will just put you down



Asexual, bisexual, pansexual, heterosexual, homosexual, transsexual, male, female — you get the idea — and everything in between: you matter and you deserve the best things out of life. I don't care how cheesy this sounds because we are not told this enough. It is okay and encouraged to be your authentic self. You deserve to identify as whatever you damn well please because anything less than that is not okay.

In the words of Aibileen Clark from The Help:

"You is kind. You is smart. You is important."

And don't you ever forget it!

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