AuDN4T

I keep struggling with my mom with the topic of who I am. She continuously gets upset that I am not who she envisions me to be.

It’s hard when parents put these expectations on their kids. They need to play soccer or hockey or baseball or do dance lessons because it’s what the parent thinks is best for their kid. This isn’t to say I didn’t like bandura. I enjoyed it. And still do. I don’t know how to get things to be accommodating where I feel comfortable with going to practice. Every day feels exhausting. Having schedules for the gym, for therapy, go to the grocery store, go to my mom’s. The energy levels suck and I think if mentally adding on more, it sucks more energy levels. This isn’t to say that bandura doesn’t bring me joy. Just everything is a lot. Tack on kids, and I can’t imagine how people do it when you’re struggling with your mental health. They probably don’t, you don’t see what goes on behind closed doors. What social media doesn’t show. What people want to frame is what is shown. You don’t hear the upset parents who might lose it and yell at their kids or hide in the bathroom to have some quiet time.

Maybe parents send their kids to these extracurriculars to get away from their kids…lol?

I mean, you’re not technically supposed to air your laundry in public or online. But that’s the reality of the world, no? Everyone has their crap they deal with one way or another. I don’t think people have ideal family lives.

It bothers me when I see my friends struggling with their parents not accepting them as LGBTQ+. Kids just want to be accepted by their life givers. We’ll seek for that approval from them one way or another – as people of who we are as a whole. Masking who you are is very exhausting. Not being able to bring your significant other home to your parents is saddening.

I know some have it easy when their parents are open and accepting. Being kind to those who don’t have that privilege goes a longs way. Being their extended family means the world – a lot of LGBTQ+ kids end up being disowned by their families. We need to do a better job caring for each other.

I can’t imagine what it’s like being a BIPOC person and getting the double whammy of the LGBTQ+ label – discrimination not only for the heteronormative world but also within the LGBTQ+ world. These people don’t have the privilege to mask – their differences are visible …which should not be an issue to anyone but it still ends up being an issue for some.

Going from a very homogenous elementary school, to a slightly more diverse high school to a more diverse university and much more diverse workforce, you learn so much. You meet so many different people. You unlearn biases taught by parents. You realize how a city like Toronto is a world within a city.

You learn despite visible or invisible disabilities or differences, people with differences in appearance – they can excel at anything and create amazing things when supported and are found in a safe environment.