Growing up in Auburn was like growing up in a box. More specifically, a cardboard box with holes in it.
You can see light shining through, but not the whole picture.
You can hear everything being said around you, but it's all the same.
Raised extremely conservative, a classic "Southern Belle," if you will, the opinions I grew accustomed to were all the same.
Girls act this way; boys act that way. One day you get married, have kids, then you die. Act like a lady throughout.
Don't make the family look bad.
It wasn't until my junior year of high school that I was officially questioned about my own "opinions." My first answer was silence. I didn't know.
Then the essay era began.
Analyze the author's tone. How does it convey feministic views?
The protagonist is also the antagonist, how is this possible?
How would a narcissist have behaved differently?
Write a four-page paper on abortion.
Write about gay marriage.
Include your own opinion.
For many years, I remained unsure. I tried to avoid the uncomfortable topics, mainly because I didn't want go against my parents in a kitchen-table debate with no real ammo.
I also feared I might be rooting for the wrong team.
When I couldn't keep quiet any longer, abortion became the first controversial topic of discussion, and it was easy. No abortion. Babies are innocent.
My parents were proud.
Then gay marriage became the big topic in question.
I was raised Baptist. I believe in God. The Bible is my guide too.
But I have gay friends, both girls and guys.They don't seem different from any other person I've ever met: they drink water and breathe air.
One day, I was talking to one of my closest friends about getting married. Just the usual bridesmaid-dress this and wedding-venue that.
Suddenly, she stopped laughing and her smile faded. She glanced at her feet and then looked back up at me with a strange look on her face, "Too bad I'll never have a wedding."
And my heart broke.
I love my faith and I love my family. But I also love my friends. They've never judged me, even when most would have; how could I possibly judge them? I am not God. I cannot play God.
The Bible has many moral codes, and I respect them all. I do not judge.
If it's the "sanctity" of marriage in jeopardy, then rename another legally binding contract.
Divorce is legal. Where in the Bible does it condone that luxury?
Why are we even using the Bible vs. law comparison anyway? Not everyone that's gay is a Christian. How do you logically enforce a law based on a religion when this government blatantly speaks out against theocracies?
Despite these thoughts, I wasn't truly convinced of my stance on gay marriage until recently when sitting with a friend, eating chocolate ice cream.
It's funny how something as simple as ice cream can trigger a political epiphany.
My friend was enjoying his vanilla ice cream next to me when I realized how sad I would be if chocolate was unavailable.
Even worse, what if I wasn't allowed to eat chocolate ice cream? But the worst nightmare imaginable is what if I was only allowed to eat vanilla?
Gag me.
The government cannot choose, or change, one's preferences.
We symbolize freedom. Our country is a beautiful, ever-changing democracy with many great laws in place, and a few yet to exist.
Church and state are separate. Not to say one is more right than the other, but not relevant in relation to one another.
I wish America, and especially the South, could see that.
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