Week 29: "Portrait of a Warrior"

Week 29: "Portrait of a Warrior"

So this week is a special week for the Central Pennsylvania  LGBT community and myself, PRIDE FEST.
  

For most of my life I have felt as if I have had to fight for everything I ever wanted or dreamed,   whether it be a better job,  freedom to love who I want or battle my own insecurities to love myself.  Most of the time I feel like I have to fight over the chaos of the world to have my voice heard.  Yet when I finally  get loud enough, is there anyone listening? 

There are those in the world that try to deny me of my right to be free. Free to express my emotions, to kiss another man or to hold his hand in front of the world and to declare him my husband.  I feel that as a society we need to realize there are still people that are longing to be free and not be treated as second class citizens.  Yet for me the true enemy that I have had to battle is myself and my own insecurities.

Like so many others in the LGBT Community I had a self hatred for many years due to my sexuality, because of people in this world who said it was a sin or it was not "normal".  I was in a constant battle within myself for my worth and self-love.   Though being out for many years I still tried to cover up the fact that I hated being  gay.  Then over the last several years I began to bring the secret out of the dark and into the sun.  I began to realize that I was brought into this world for a reason, and that every battle internal or external is what writes the chapters of my life.  I learned to love myself and be proud of who I am, and not let myself being gay define me.  In turn this made me finally love that part about me.  


It was there and then that I adorned myself in my war paint, and let out a mighty cry and stated to myself, "My blood runs many colors. I am a Warrior!
I will not back down until I am 
Free!"