Being Thankful Day Five: Being Proud

               It seems like every day there is a new celebrity that comes out of the closet as some form of LGBT+ and dammit that makes me happy. Not because there are more LGBT+ people in the world, that is nice, but because they are doing it with pride. From Neil Patrick Harris saying he is a “Proud gay man” to Miley Cyrus coming out as Pansexual I am thankful that they had the pride in themselves to come out and decided to share it with the world.

               I am thankful that they are showing all generations that there is nothing shameful in being who you are. I am thankful that they are showing people it is okay to come out and be who you are. I am thankful that it is no longer wrong to be out and proud. This ties in to what I said yesterday about coming out, and I mean, I am thankful to live in a world when it is okay to be you.

Being Thankful Day Four: LGBT Organizations

               It always helps to have someone on your side and organizations like GLAAD and the Human Right Campaign are the help that we need, and I am thankful that they are there. I am thankful that they take up the fight for the LGBT+ community, that they raise awareness, and sponsor wonderful events like Spirit Day.

               I am thankful for these organizations because they bring awareness to issues in the community that I may not be aware of. They also hold groups like the film and TV industry responsible for fair representation of the LGBT+ community in media. I am thankful for these organizations because they bring of the awareness they bring our struggles for workplace equality. I am thankful because these organization can be a voice for thousands in the LGBT+ community.

Being Thankful Day Three: Coming Out

              Coming to terms with who you are, that day when you figure out who, and how you love and now you want to tell the world, or at least someone close to you. Now you can come out and it is a beautiful thing, even if it was not well received it can still be the most freeing experience that a person can go through. I am thankful for the fact that in 2015 coming out is beautiful, not disgusting. One’s sexuality is something to take pride in, not be ashamed of.

               I am thankful that coming out can no longer get you thrown into an asylum, or jail. There are no more morals charges, and slowly, but surely the sodomy laws in this country are being repealed. I am thankful that being LGBT is becoming more and more accepted in this world. Yes, there are places where being LGBT will never be accepted, but there are more places where it is accepted.

               I also thankful that you can come out in any way that you choose, including not coming out at all, I’m looking at you K-Stew, or in my case, I chose to not make a big deal of it, and only answer the question when I am asked, but I am thankful that I don’t have to live in fear of someone outing me. I know that is not true in all part of the world, but I know that the world isn’t perfect yet, and there are still some bad things that can keep a person from coming out, but I am still thankful that coming out is a beautiful thing.  For the joys of coming out take a listen to this.