What Doesn't Kill You, Makes You Stronger

Yesterday’s class was one of my favorites from this semester. It was really interesting to see the different people I’ve seen around campus come and give us insight into the LGBTQ community. Honestly before this class discussion I was aware of WHAT LGBTQ was but not what it was all about. The reason I really enjoyed the guest speakers was because my cousin recently just came out and he is 26 years old. He was always the lady’s man in high school and has the best, funniest personality. The whole situation was a very confusing time for all of us. We are a really close family and spend a lot of time together so this came as a shock, for me anyways. He moved away to Hawaii when he was 23 and we didn’t see him much during the 2 years he lived there. He decided to move very quickly and just picked up and left. He wasn’t the same person when he would come home for holidays. He was very quiet and wore a grimace on his face most of the time we would see him. This wasn’t the kid I grew up with. I got a call from my mom during one of my finals last winter. I didn’t think anything of it and I called her back afterward. It turned out my cousin had overdosed and was at the hospital in Hawaii. My mind started racing as to how this happened. It didn’t occur to me at the time that it was his suicide attempt. 

My cousin recovered thankfully and knew he had some explaining to do. He came out that he was bi-sexual in the spring and I’ve never seen my cousin happier. He had been dealing with these demons for his entire life and it finally got to him. He broke. Hearing the other stories from yesterday really made me sad for those people who feel fearful to say who they truly are. I do believe it is getting easier as the years go on, but it is still a life-changing event in that person’s life. You can see it being more widely accepted just by watching some of the most recent popular shows. My favorite for example; Modern Family. Two men raising a baby together would’ve been a controversy even just 5 years ago.

I think it’s so good for people to be exposed to this lifestyle because it isn’t going anywhere and why should it? People are going to watch television with these types of situations and either accepts it or ignores and keeps living their own life. I’ve grown so much from the experience with my cousin and realized a lot of things. I’m thankful to have him and can only hope things will keep changing for the best in the LGBTQ community. One thing that stuck with me the most from the guest speakers was when Ana said, “it may not get better, but you get stronger.” I think that is really great advice for someone struggling. You get stronger and you make it better.