Love One Another

     In this day and age, our world has become so diverse and beautiful. Our differences as human beings make us so unique and allow us to compliment one another. As the years have gone by, more differences have become more accepted in society, including: race and gender. A lot of people have been able to more freely come out and express their sexual orientation. Things have come a long way for people to finally feel comfortable in their own skin. 

    Growing up, my cousin was always bullied for seeming to have more feminine traits. He was a very creative young boy and loved to help and support others. He loved dancing and had so many goals and aspirations even at a young age. However, just because he didn't fit the mold of a stereotypical "boy" he was teased for being "gay," which unfortunately was shameful or looked down upon. He learned to love himself and to stop caring about the opinion of others, which is a beautiful lesson that most kids should definitely learn growing up. 

    Now,  he has become a successful nurse, and was able to help doctors during this pandemic. He tries his best to inform people about covid and help educate people who still want to learn more information. He is the only person in his family to have graduated from college and reached his goals. As he has grown into the amazing man that he is today, he has realized that he actually is gay and he embraces it. He definitely tried to date women, but he just doesn't feel attracted to them in that way. He was able to come out to his family and gain the support and love from them that he deserves. There are so many different personal reasons that people come out with their sexuality. No matter what the reason is, at the end of the day they are all children of a loving God. They are beautiful, amazing people and deserve to be treated with love. No one should feel less valued, hated, discriminated against, or simply mistreated for something that they cannot change. Our identities as people can be such a blessing and help us discover who we are. 

    Whether you are straight, bi, trans, gay, etc. you are loved. You are valued. You are treasured. You have great worth. In this world, there is enough hate being spread and we should really stop judging so harshly and focus on loving one another. Our time and energy should be put into lifting each other up, rather than tearing them down. A person whom I look up to and admire very much once told me, "The only reason you should be looking down on someone, is to lift them up." That saying has always stayed with me in my heart. I know that if we look past our differences and find the beauty all around us that we can make a change. I hope that this world can become more loving and that we may all understand how beautiful differences can truly be.