Freedom of the Heart

       A letter was once written. A letter manifesting love, trust, openness, acceptance and the sense of life. This letter was written by Michael, for his mother. In this letter, he confesses about his sexuality which is homosexual. He expressed his thankfulness of being gay. He talked about the hardships he faced and the lessons he received along the way.

        I feel deeply happy for and proud of Michael. I'm proud, not just because he was able to build up the courage to confess to her mother but also of the things he learned alone in his journey. I am proud that he has achieved self-discovery, self-love and self-acceptance on his own. Most of all, I'm glad and proud that he is free, that he does not need to hide and keep his sexuality on his own and that he has confessed about it to the person who matters to him which is his mother.

      For people who aren't straight or are simply confused of their sexuality, surely, it must be hard and possible scary especially at first when they're still young. Some might be ashamed or might not accept it because of the discrimination and rejection they may experience. As I read Michael's letter, I slowly start to his confidence. He stated that he hoped, although no one ever taught him that sexuality can't and shouldn't define anyone, that it does not make someone sick, evil or less worthy. He had to find and learn it all on his own. I thought, his life must've been difficult when he was younger, he was just starting to know himself more.

        People in the LGBT community face numerous issues and I think one of those is rejection or not receiving social acceptance. When a person is born, people would usually only expect this person to either be a boy or a girl. Which is why confessing about not being heterosexual or straight is mostly unforeseen unless one is being obvious and fearless about it. Most of the time, people like Michael are not completely sure if they'll receive acceptance when they tell other people about who they really are and I think that's an issue we have to solve.

        As I've talked about, people in the LGBT community face many issues including discrimination and rejection. I think the best way to help these people is to not contribute on aggravating these issues. Telling them that their sexuality doesn't make them any less than others will help encourage them to open up and be confident. I think we must all treat each other equally, whatever race, sexuality and status because at the end of the day, it's us who can benefit from it.