To the gunman responsible for the shooting in Orlando,
I was not involved in the event. I don't know anyone who was. But hearing that 50 people who identify within the community I also identify in fucks you up.
That could have been me.
I could have died because I choose to love and accept myself.
It's because of people like you who leave me to fear for my life everyday. I wake up and worry that I'm going to run into somebody who will harm me because I'm gay. I no longer feel safe when I leave my house.
That's not how I want to live.
I want to love the person I am. I want to show the person I love how much I love them. I want to walk down the street holding her hand. I want to take her on dates and spend time with her in public like any other couple does. Because that's what we are.
A couple.
I want to be everything and more to the person I love so dearly but I fear that my life can be taken away at any moment because I choose to express who I truly am. But it's hard to be proud if I'm dead.
As part of the lgbt+ community, we have to play what we're dealt. Our lives aren't filled with rainbow lollipops and gay parties. Shit, I wish it was but it's not.
It's not easy. We are put into situations you'd never even think of. We get fucking yelled at for using the restroom. We receive hate on a daily basis.
But when I come home and I see her wearing an old T-shirt, swaying her hips to music as she stands in front of the stove. Or when she smiles and tilts her head downward to hide her blushing. Or at 3 in the morning when I'm half asleep and I feel her arms wrap tighter around me.. It's all worth it. Everything is worth going through if it means I get to love the beauty that stands in front of me.
I will always fear my life because of people like you. I just can't let my fear control me any longer. I may not have tomorrow, but I have tonight with her and that's so much more than I could ever ask for.
This is it.
This is who I am.
I'm part of the lgbt+ community.
So to the gunman responsible for the Orlando shooting... Fuck you.
