By Taryn
I have always dreamed since I was a little girl of having a fancy wedding. My perfect wedding would be on a Santa Barbara beach, on a perfect summer's day, with my dad performing the ceremony, and my mom walking me down the aisle. And that this will be a step in me getting the "happily ever after" that I have always seen in Disney movies. This may seem like a dream that could easily come true. However, there is one big problem. I am gay, and I don't know if this dream of mine will ever come true.
The future of gay marriage is now in the hands of the Supreme Court. The LGBTQ community has many wonderful straight allies. I love seeing straight people put themselves in the shoes of others in order to protect human rights. But, it is still hard knowing that not everyone in this world has the best interests of LGBTQ people at heart.
I think that there is a misconception in our society that gay people want "special rights,” and that this should not be permitted. The truth is that we just want to be treated like everybody else. To those who say that being gay is a choice, I ask, why would I or anyone else choose a life that will be ridden with discrimination, bullying, inequality, and even the possibility of being the subject of a hate crime? Nobody would ever want these hurdles to be present in their life. The fact that some people think and say these things really hurts. Should the fact that somebody is gay mean that they're not worthy of having equal opportunities and rights? Some people would say yes. The gay community is not asking to be treated differently; we just want to be treated equally. I don't think that being treated equally is too much to ask.
Sometimes putting a name with a face helps make understanding something different easier. Let me help you all out here. My name is Taryn (sometimes also known as TayTay, T, or Miss Daisy). I am 17 years old. I love writing and have big dreams of being very successful in the world of media and news. I spend way too much time on the Internet, and watching "The Big Bang Theory.” My dad says that I race through life at 100 miles an hour and that I should slow down. My mom thinks that I need to be more organized and need to clean up my room. I also happen to be a lesbian. I don't think that this is anything to be ashamed of. It certainly makes my life more difficult sometimes, but I also think that it is one of many things that makes me unique. Maybe my little introduction will help you all to identify and empathize with someone that you know, even if it's only through the Internet.
I have dreams of having a wife, and maybe even a having family. I also hope to have very successful career. I don't think that this is very uncommon, except maybe that I want a wife instead of a husband. I just hope that other people can recognize that. This Supreme Court case has real world consequences for me. Either way the verdict goes there is no doubt that it will change my life. I am extremely lucky to have great, supportive parents, that have accepted me for exactly who I am since the day that I was born. I just hope that when the Supreme Court Justices are making their final decision that the will remember that I, along with a whole community of LGBTQ Americans, dream of having our fairy tale weddings, and "happily ever afters" too.
