<p>But our sexuality shapes our lives. I honestly can’t imagine what my life would have been like so far if I was heterosexual. It’s as defining as being an African-American was during the Civil Rights movement. And you know why? Because people aren’t okay with it. That’s what makes it about more than just “I’m gay and I have a boyfriend (assuming OP is male, girlfriend if female)”. It makes it about personal growth, about learning to not care what people who don’t like you think. </p>
<p>Apparently, you’ve never talked to anybody in a small southern town about their views on homosexuality (and other non-hetero behavior). In my small southern town, we aren’t aloud to start a GSA. The closest thing we can get is making a page on Facebook. That’s what the vast majority of small southern towns are like.</p>
<p>What kind of spin can be put on building houses for habitat for humanity? Or helping at the animal shelter? Or working a food drive? We’ve heard all of these stories before too. </p>
<p>When I start college applications, my essay will be about myself being queer and how it helped me grow as a person. I’m willing to be denied acceptance because if I am then I most likely won’t be happy at the school.</p>
<p>And one sentence that you wrote- “I don’t see why you would want to go there”. Go where? To a fundamental part of their lives, that makes them different, as evidenced by the fact that my sexuality can legally get me fired where I live? Okay. I’ll tell the same story as twenty of my classmates about how we donated toys to kids on Christmas.</p>