So I’ve been thinking.

I’ve really gone through a lot this year. And I’ve just really been thinking about a lot of stuff, such as drama with friends, the drama club itself, how i’ve learned more about who I am, etc. I think that over this school year I’ve really matured and learned to care more just about what I think is important more than what other people think. I used to be the boy who cared about what everyone else thought and never listened to what was going on in his head. Things have certainly changed.

Throughout all of the drama I’ve had with my friends, as much as I hate to admit that I’ve had drama, I’ve really learned who my real friends are and who really cares. At the beginning of the year I thought that I had so many friends and that all of the people really liked me and that for once I had friends who I could always talk to and ask for advice or whatever I needed. Over the course of this year, I’ve dropped quite a few of these people because I came to the realization that a lot of these people actually didn’t like me. And quite recently, someone who I had always viewed as one of my closest friends is now someone I really don’t like talking to or even associate with. Through the whole big fight that we had I noticed that throughout the whole time that I had been friends with her, I never really mattered. I was never really appreciated because she knew that I would always be there for her to run back to. And I finally realized that it was all about her, and we got into a big fight and I guess I finally made the decision to just drop her. Things seem to be really getting better now that I don’t seem to have any fake friends.

The Drama club also ties into the fight that I had with the person who I considered to be one of my closest friends. And I’ve learned that as much as I get extremely stressed about things that may occur in the Drama club, it has really helped me mature and learn about things. I love the Drama club no matter what, and I will never ever stop being somehow involved with theater. It will ALWAYS be a huge part of my life even though I may get stressed out.

And as far as learning who I am goes… all of these things really group in together. I’ve done a lot to really become myself for once. So to all of the people who have either been a part of these situations, I just want to thank you for playing a part in who I am.

Terrier Times Article

Okay so today the new Terrier Times came out and there is an article on the second page entitled, “Students: Homophobia still prevalent,” written by Alexa Boucher. As you can probably tell, it’s all about the homophobia in our school and how people are starting to become more comfortable coming out… OR how there are students who are intensely against gay/lesbians/transexuals, etc.

First off I would like to thank Alexa for getting this information out there no matter how angry some people may become about it. It was a very courageous act on her part and I give her a lot of credit and love.

Second, I know that a lot of people may be very angry about some of the comments made by students Jason Houle and Darren Sherokow. Some of these comments are, “… and I think it’s wrong and they should burn in hell,” and, “I don’t like gay people.” But the thing is, they have absolutely every single right to make these comments because every person 1) is entitled to their own opinion and 2) has the right to voice how the feel about something. These were not the only comments made in the article. Some of the other comments were made by gay/lesbian/bi students, or students who just support everyone. These statements were about anything and everything that might support gays/lesbians/bi’s. So just as these students who support people like myself who are gay, students like Darren and Jason should also be allowed to say what they want no matter what.

Our purpose in this world is not to change any one person’s opinion, or tell other people how they should feel… I believe that our purpose is to become comfortable with ourselves, even though we may be “different.” I think that we all need to start learning how to be able to defend ourselves in situations where things are said that may hurt our feelings, but we also need to start learning how to not let it affect us.

So please, I’d like to ask one favor of you (whoever may be reading this). Just know that not every person feels the same way you do, but not one opinion is wrong no matter how much it may hurt or offend you.

“Its hard to lead a cavalry charge if you think you look funny on a horse.” -Adalai Stevenson

So yeah. I participated in an assembly at my collab high school the other day and it was all about non-traditional students (such as boys in a typical girl shop, or girls in a typical boy shop), gays, lesbians, bisexuals, transexuals, etc.. and it really made me think. I think about how just ten years ago, most people were probably extremely heterosexual and extremely against gays and lesbians. I remember hearing about the boy named Matthew Shepherd(sp?), and how he was beat and killed just because of the simple fact that he was gay.

Now if I were living back in that time, and I was as open about being gay as I am now… I’d probably get beat and killed too. But nowadays things have really changed. Today, we’re living in a whole new world and most people are a lot more open to new things. When I first agreed to making a speech at the collab about being gay, I was extremely nervous and thought that it was going to be sooo pointless. But that morning after the first assembly was over, I just sat there in awe. When i finished making my speech about how people should be more open to new people, such as gays, there was so much applause. I think that if more people start to stand up and defend themselves, and not be afraid to be themselves, then the world will start to change how they think. And there will be a lot less prejudice, racism, bigotry, etc.

So my note to everyone is. Be yourself. Please don’t be afraid to be who you are and stand up and make a difference in the world. The enormous change may not happen in our lifetime, but the more work we all put into it, the more change there will be.