June 20th, 2012 by sixpegs

Tonight, I felt inclined to share my thoughts and feelings about my personal life.

Some people might call me brave.
Some people might call me stupid; because hereforth, I will be labelled as different.
When my friends mention me to their friends, I would probably be described as “gay”.
Some might think that I am just juvenile and confused, not knowing what I want at the age of 27.
There would also be some people, like many of you, who would think that being different is not a big deal.
Because we are all free to love who we are, and gender does not matter.

If you are one of few, thank you.

Someone once told me that straight people are just lucky because they belong to the majority.
Putting aside who is in the majority and who is not,
have you ever thought about why most of us think that being straight is normal while being gay is not?
Who decides what is normal and what is not?
The society?

The society and our education taught us to compartmentalize and differentiate things.
And our upbringing instills various sets of beliefs in us.
Why must all the baby girls wear pink? And boys blue?
Who decided that pink is a feminine colour?
Why are boys supposed to like cars and girls should play with dolls?
Why is it normal for girls to wear makeup and abnormal when guys want to have their nails painted?

Wouldn’t it be nice if we could forget all about the societal rules and standards for a while?

Being in love is a feeling.
There is no right or wrong feeling.
Like how you hate eating capsicums – there is nothing right or wrong about it.
The same goes for love.
Because love IS love.
We cannot judge someone for hating something we love
Neither can we judge them because they love something we hate.

Peel away the layers of pre-concieved notions about what is right and what is not,
we are all human beings – born to have feelings for people and things.
We are all different and we are all free to love.

“Coming out” to the LGBT people means disclosing their sexual orientation or gender identity.
I once read an article saying that it should not be called “coming out”, but “coming home” instead.
That is so very true.

Knowing and coming to terms with who you are is such a brave and honest thing a person can do.
At the end of the day, one should be rejoicing with the fact that one has finally found oneself,
and not worry about how one needs to face the world from then on.
Afterall, who knows for sure how or what one’s future would be like from Day One?

For me, I did not come out of the closet at all – because I was never in one.
It was the unconditional love and support from my family and friends who gave me the courage to be myself.
I never felt that there was a reason to hide because being able to love is such a wonderful gift.
Because of love, we were created.
Because of love, our parents did not give up on us even when we were not the child they envisioned us to be.
Because of love, we accept our partners even though they were not even close to the person we have in mind
when we were writing down our “My Dream Lover” criteria.
Because of love, we could never allow ourselves to be mad at our dog for too long after they just peed on the door mat.
And because love is such a powerful and natural thing for every human being,
how could anybody bring themselves to despise or ostracize another person because of who or what they love?

Yes. There were, and will always be people who are not too happy with where myself,
and millions of other LGBT people are now.
But it does not matter because someday, they will grow to understand that we are all humans and we love the same way.
And hopefully, that someday will not take too long to come.

I am sure every single person reading this has heard of or personally knows someone who is a LGBT.
Let them know that you are proud to be in their lives, and let them know that you support the freedom to love too.

Pink Dot 2012 will be happening at the end of this month and I can’t wait to be part of this event.
And I want to be there because I support the Freedom to Love.
One day, someday, there would be no person too fearful to disclose his or her sexual orientation.
Someday, we will all be equal -
regardless of gender, regardless of race, culture or social status.

Come have a night picnic at the Pink Dot and feel the love if you are free too!

Let us show Singapore that we support the freedom to love,
and there is no need for anyone to hide because we are all the same.
Peace xx

Other related articles:
The Naked Bulb
She Loves Her
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