In today’s society, we ostracize people for many reasons. We often ostracize people when they seem different or act differently from the majority of people. People can become ostracized because of their race, gender, religion, sexual orientation, and many other reasons. I have experienced ostracism throughout my entire life because of my sexual orientation, ostracism that was, in my opinion, completely undeserved. My experience being ostracized, however, was a little different than most. Instead of being ostracized by a group of people, I was the one ostracizing myself. When I first realized that I was gay, I had no idea how to react. It was like there were hundreds of emotions flowing through my body at once. I was angry, sad, upset, scared,
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This shame that Brick feels causes him to be unable to love another person. Brick was never able to fully love Skipper, nor Maggie, who both felt passionately about him. I am a strong believer that loving other people starts with loving ourselves and accepting ourselves, something that Brick and I have both struggled with. Fortunately, I was able to overcome the shame that I felt. When I got to college, I began to make myself vulnerable and I started being more open with my friends, peers, and the people who surround me. Before going to college, I never really felt comfortable expressing myself because I had a strong fear of being judged. I suffered for years in high school because I was afraid to be out; my mental health suffered, my physical health suffered, and my relationships suffered. I started distancing myself from my family and friends and spending a lot of time alone. Every day at school I would have to pretend to be someone that I wasn't and put on this fake smile so no one would know something was wrong. I would walk around every day so mad at the world when I was really just fighting with myself. Since coming out and being more open with other people, I have felt more love and acceptance than I have felt in my entire
This shame that Brick feels causes him to be unable to love another person. Brick was never able to fully love Skipper, nor Maggie, who both felt passionately about him. I am a strong believer that loving other people starts with loving ourselves and accepting ourselves, something that Brick and I have both struggled with. Fortunately, I was able to overcome the shame that I felt. When I got to college, I began to make myself vulnerable and I started being more open with my friends, peers, and the people who surround me. Before going to college, I never really felt comfortable expressing myself because I had a strong fear of being judged. I suffered for years in high school because I was afraid to be out; my mental health suffered, my physical health suffered, and my relationships suffered. I started distancing myself from my family and friends and spending a lot of time alone. Every day at school I would have to pretend to be someone that I wasn't and put on this fake smile so no one would know something was wrong. I would walk around every day so mad at the world when I was really just fighting with myself. Since coming out and being more open with other people, I have felt more love and acceptance than I have felt in my entire