To the one with a rainbow on his wrist,
I want to thank you.
Last night my mother had said marriage should not happen unless a man proposed to a woman. She likes black and white, yes and no. She afraid of things that are different. Myself included.
It put me in a mood. I felt like I had let her down and that I'd never be the daughter she wanted me to be just because I'm gay.
I beat myself up over it. I cried and wished I'd just be "normal."
So this morning, I put on my pride bracelet and every time I felt shitty, I'd look at the rainbow on my wrist and remember everything I went through to be standing where I am today.
Then you came along. I was walking through Walmart, I had drifted from everybody else. You stopped next to me and said, "I admire that, even though the world around us isn't always the most welcoming, you're still staying true to yourself."
Then you held out your wrist, showing the rainbow that had been drawn on.
I hugged you. I hugged you so tightly. Your voice cracked when you said goodbye, tears running down both of our faces. I told you that the only person who controls your happiness is yourself. I wished you the best of luck.
I watched as the rainbow drawn messily on your wrist grew smaller and smaller as you walked away.
Your gesture seemed small to most people but it knocked me back into reality. I can't thank you enough for that.
I realized that yes, I am different and yes, I don't always like the idea of being different but this is who I am. I don't want to change, I don't need to. I worked so hard for so damn long to accept myself and love myself. I shouldn't throw that away because of one shitty day caused by a thoughtless person.
The world isn't nice. To be quite honest, people can be assholes. But that doesn't mean we have to stop loving who we are because somebody else doesn't understand us.
So to the one with a rainbow on his wrist... Sometimes you'll be surrounded by people who love and accept you simply because you are who you are and sometimes you'll be surrounded by close minded people who don't taste the words they spit out. Either way, I hope you stay true to yourself too. The world can be a very unwelcoming place, you said so yourself, but your self worth cannot be measured by the mindsets of those around you.
I'd give anything to hug you again and make sure you knew that.
