PAIGE wins COLLEGE ELECTION by 104 VOTES BECAUSE SHE STANDS FOR WHAT IS RIGHT

When Paige was in High School she had the same dreams of every other girl her age, boyfriends, social engagements, popularity and acceptance. She didn’t look too far ahead into the future and she didn’t think beyond tomorrow. And frankly she frightened us.

When Paige hit her senior year, however, realizing the choices of the first three years of High School would affect her University options, she began to get serious and we saw a marked change begin to occur. She slowly emerged from the playful kid who took little to heart or seriously and began to grow into a culturally aware contributing member of society. 

This was her freshman year of College, and although she didn’t go to a State school or University, Paige did take on her first year at Junior College with a clear plan and objective and took on the drive to excel and succeed with a vengeance. She was clearly out to prove that although her past choices affected her ability to attend mainstream college as a freshman, she was not going to allow that to impact her mark on the world.

Recently Paige submit an article on her page of this blog WRITTEN PAIGE, in which she outlined an event that took place at a recent Senate meeting at her school, in which the current president stated that the comedy lineup for a fund raising event sponsoring their Gay Straight Alliance was “too gay”. Paige was astounded and angered and frustrated by the myopic if not limited perception of her classmate and was outraged at the implication that anything could be deemed “TOO GAY”.  Instead of lamenting the issue, and crying the blues about her leadership in school, Paige decided to take action and as a freshman took on the task of running for President for the upcoming fall.

Though her opponent took on smear tactics and negative campaigning iniatives to defeat her opponent, Paige did not succumb to such tactics in her own campaign, instead highlighted the positive and opted to promote herself and her values through change initiatives and listening to her student body needs. She ran a clean campaign and won by 104 votes.  Paige’s success was pivotal in her understanding of the power of positive, and the ability to make a difference through positive measures and communication.

Standing up can be scary. Taking on a fight or campaign in which we set ourselves apart, and often find ourselves combatting ignorance fear and hate, takes incredible courage and faith and while she may have doubted herself for a moment here or there, in truth she took it on with a vengeance and opted to evoke change and make a difference through the example she set in leadership. She didn’t have to smear her opponent or her opponents beliefs, she didn’t have to slander or intimidate her opponent, she simply had to stand up and stand strong for her own values and character and believe first and formost in herself and secondarily in the fundamental morality of equality and change.

No matter who you are, no matter what you stand for, as long as it is in sync with making positive change and reaching out to make a positive difference in your community and the world around you, anything is possible. STAND UP AND STAND STRONG

We don’t always get along, this daughter of mine and I, and often I make mistakes in raising her, but the one thing I am assured of is that for all of my “mistakes” and transgressions, I raised a leader, and a fighter and a survivor who knows the value of LIFE as a gift and the importance of FREEDOM to live life in full authenticity of who you are. I raised a daughter who knows that leadership is commanded and not demanded and making a difference and executing change is hard earned but the payoff is extraordinary. I raised a child who has become a young woman of exceptional value to her community and school and who brings absolute joy and a drive to succeed at all costs.

We are so VERY PROUD of you PAIGE! You will make a significant difference in your community, and you are leaving your own indelible mark on the world, and we could not be more joyous or proud of you than we are today, right here, and right now in this moment!

LGBT KIDS, MEAN GIRLS AND TOO GAY????? WTH?

As I navigate this road I am astounded by the perspectives of those who are gay, those who are not, the kids and teens who identify and how they identify and find myself scratching my head with greater frequency.

I have been addressing an issue with my son and his “fit” in the local High School. Having recently transferred from California to Texas, and obviously a LGBT youth, I expected some issues but not the ones I find myself confronting and championing. While it is assumed that Texas, the Good Ole” Boys state would be the least likely place to encounter LGBT acceptance, the reality is, he is not being bullied or encountering issues with straight kids but instead with the other LGBT teens, of which this High School has many.

It seems that my son is deemed “too Gay”, ” too effeminate”, and simply put, discovering that socializing among his own community is proving difficult.  This was astounding to me and frankly preposterous.

“What the F%#@????!”   was my immediate response when I learned of the social hardships and unkindness.  I feel trapped in a scene from “Mean Girls” and ill-equipped to understand or make right a situation that is very, very wrong.  While I stood there listening to this young man (not mine) elaborate on the dis-likeable traits of my son, such as too girly, too feminine, too OUT and the justification that my son is living Gay as a lifestyle as opposed to this kid’s “character and personality trait” I found that for the first time I was speechless and dangerous all at the same time. A mother’s first instinct is to attack the aggressor ( frankly I wanted to haul this young man in front of a mirror and ask him if he preferred to be the POT or the Kettle today?) There he stood, with that Justin Bieber/Donald Trump comb-over no one ever imagined would be fashionable, in matching red t-shirt and red ked’s and freshly pressed skinny jeans and wondered if this kid really knew what he was saying?  I am discovering in this amazing OUT world through my child, that kids, regardless of sexual orientation, are just plain cruel.

So I ask the question, is there a difference between Gay and “Too Gay”?  What does that mean exactly?  Why would these kids not bond and form community choosing to be at odds instead, in this world of equality and defusing hate crimes and bullying?  Is that other child really convinced that he is “different” and in some way superior to my son? What is the sense behind “Character trait” vs “lifestyle”?

I see so much coming at me as a parent, and like all parents, worry, fret and stress over the happiness and childhood experiences of my children. Childhood should last as long as possible and be joyful and memorable and fun…..so when you think you have done right by your child, and you are helping him or her build their community and discover that even today in this world of equality and change that instead of bonding and becoming a force to be reckoned with, they are at odds and still unkind to one another for petty reasons such as the shirt they wear, the speech patterns or characteristics it makes a parent want to SCREAM!

I am at a loss on this one. I rally for the child, in the meantime, let him know that in the world there are the real and the superficial and the unkind everywhere, but there is also kind, real and genuine and finding those people are the gift of the everyday wonders of life……WHY was I not issued a manual when that stork dropped by???????