The Face.

My footsteps echoed as I walked up the steps, the blazing heat from the stage lights beating down on my face and the top of my head, threatening to burst into flames. I hear the rustle of people shifting in the hard, uncomfortable auditorium chairs. Someone coughs. The back doors open and blinding light floods the large room. I briefly make out faces in the audience but the light disappears before I can fully recognize anyone. I feel everyone's eyes on me as I continue walking across the stage, stumbling here and there. My heart pounds in my chest feeling as if it's about to break through my chest. The pianist gives me an encouraging smile which I feebly return. My cheeks are burning. They're turning a deep crimson. I scan the crowd looking for a face, the one face that will reassure me as I take the microphone from the stand. The face I long to see is lost in the dark sea of faces. I drop my eyes back to floor and the pianist begins playing the first few notes.

Just a Little Acceptance. Just a Little Tolerance.

I’ve always been a supporter for gay rights. But after reading "Try Walking a Mile in a Gay Man’s Shoes”, I became even more of a supporter. Hearing a highly realistic of the challenges a gay man or maybe a lesbian has to go through broke my heart.

It’s ironic how intolerant our country is of gays and lesbians when our country was founded along the lines of tolerance and equal rights for everyone. Like our intolerance for African-Americans, our intolerance for gays and lesbians is a hurdle our country will have to jump before we can honestly say every citizen of our country is equal.

I have complete hope that one day gay and lesbian couples will be accepted all across the nation. No one will do a double take when they see two men holding hands walking down the street. Or when no one will yell rude names at two girls embracing each other in a loving manner.

Why are gay couples treated so differently? It’s just two people in love. Why should our country argue against love? I suppose it boils down to we’re afraid of different. There’s always that one child in a classroom who is always teased and ridiculed by his peers for one reason. He acts a little off or dresses a different way. Her personality is a little colorful or her hair is a little offbeat. Gays are different. I will forever wait for the day when ‘different’ is accepted in our society.