Empathetic

We all see pain in everyday situations. Sometimes it's in the eyes of strangers, or the way our closest friend's shoulders seem to sag with an invisible weight. We feel pain ourselves most days. Not necessarily pain of the physical variety, but the type of pain that hits us closest. The pain that stabs each of our hearts.
From as far back as I can remember, other people's pain has affected me.
I guess I inherited such a strong sense of empathy from my mother, and at times it's both a blessing and a curse.
When a friend of mine told me how depressed he'd been in the seventh grade, and that he'd cut his wrists, I felt like someone had punched me in the gut. Here was someone who was right in front of me for those terrible years in middle school, and I had no idea. I had no idea that his pain pushed him to the edge. And so, I beat myself up about it for a few weeks. It seemed to me that I should have been able to see it. I should have been able to help in some way.
I guess it's a very good thing to be so touched by the pain of others. I know it means that I'm not ignorant, and that is one thing I know I'll never be. People who cannot fathom the concept that not everyone believes the same things as they do can't possibly understand what I'm talking about.
I know it isn't right to hate anyone, but when I see the way that people act towards anyone who has a different view than they do, I can't help but loathe them a little bit.
Especially the way people act towards anyone who isn't straight.
I see people everyday who are so ignorant as to believe that homosexuality is a contagious disease.
If they were referring to love being a disease that none of us can help, then they would be correct. Sadly, they aren't. They are perfectly content to live with such a pointlessly negative attitude.
My mom told me to read a note that one of her friends posted to facebook. In the post, he talked about how he grew up going to church and the way people reacted to his sexuality. I don't even think I was a fourth of the way down the page when I started crying. If I can't hate people, then I'll hate society. Obviously hate of any nature doesn't make things any better for anyone, but society is to blame for all of this. I felt so sick to my stomach after reading his note. Yes, it was extremely touching and inspiring, but it was also so heartbreaking.
No one should ever be told they are wrong for falling in love.
If I were lesbian, I know I'd have all of my friends behind me. I know that my family, for the most part, would stand by me. But so many people don't have that luxury, and they should.
Once, I was eating lunch in the cafeteria at school. A boy at the table I was sitting at said something very negative and entirely wrong about gay people. I turned to him and said, "Being gay isn't wrong." and he stopped whatever he was saying and said to me, "Being gay is wrong. They can either die or change." People like him are responsible for the high rate of teen suicide among the LGBT youth. People like him are the people that I have to try my hardest not to hate. And you know what? God bless anyone who comes out of the closet in a town with assholes like that guy in it. When he said that, I had to get up from the table and go to the bathroom. It took every ounce of self control in my being not to punch the crap out of him right then and there.
But I have hope for our generation. I sincerely do.
If I ever have children, I hope they grow up in a society much different than the one I grew up in.

I want to thank my mother for letting me make up my own mind about my personal beliefs.
Thanks mom, for not beating me over the head with the bible and for letting me have my own opinions on controversial topics. You truly are my biggest role model, and I love you more than anything.
It's been very interesting, growing up in a house with a mom who is a democrat and a dad who is a republican. But you know what? At least I know that without a doubt, I decided for myself what I believed in.
Obviously I'm a democrat, and I'll be one for my entire life. So many teens and kids that I know just blindly went with whatever their parents told them. So thanks, for making sure I had a good, albeit hard head on my shoulders.

Peace, Love, and Standing Up for What You Believe In,
Sara