Two issues I want to address: My homophobia and my low socio-economic status.

Last night I had a friend bring another friend to the radio station last night to show him around. This is nothing unusual. People bring their friends up to the radio station all the time to show them around. Nothing impressive to see, trust me. But the guy’s friend was obviously gay, but he had on makeup and what were probably women’s clothes. His appearance was nothing you wouldn’t see in a big city or wasn’t over-the-top drag queen type. He just had on beige pants and a pink shirt. Nothing too strange. But I, Mr. Self-Righteous, made fun of him. I made really inappropriate comments with some of the other staff members about his ‘girly’ appearance and clothes. Later that night, I ended up going to dinner with him and my friend after the show. I found out that the kid is from Germany, just moved here a few years ago and now lives in a small South Georgia town. Guess what? At his high school, he gets called a ‘faggot’ on a daily biases, people yell at him and say mean, disgusting things to him every day he walks down the hall. I became one of those people. I made fun of him for his appearance before I even knew his name. While I grilled him, Oprah style, on the stuff that he goes through at his high school, I almost started to cry. It’s so easy to fall into the trap of bigotry. I am ashamed at myself for laughing at him and letting my co-workers do the same. My heart truly hearts for the daily injustice that kids like him have to go through at school each and every day.

This morning I went to sign the lease at the new apartments Kori and I will be living at next year. They had to run a credit check on my Grandmother to make sure I pay bills to live there, yada, yada. The usual stuff that goes on when you move into an apartment. I forgot to fill in on one of the forms the part where it says how much my Grandmother makes a year. When I got the information later today on the amount of money she makes, I was shocked. I made more than her last year. My mother basically made nothing last year also. I’ve always understood that I was poor, but never have I realized how little my family survives off of. I just hope and pray that I am able to pull myself up from where I came from and make enough money to live a comfortable lifestyle. I thank God everyday that he has provided me with all that I have now. It’s a wonder that I’ve been able to make it through college without having to little to nothing for anything. If it weren’t for my scholarships, I would NOT be in college. There would be no way to pay for it. The generosity of others through my life has been astounding. I wish I could hold a big party to thank each and every person that has helped me along the way. The other day I was thinking about high school and prom. My senior year for prom, without me asking or anything, several teachers got together and gave me money to pay for my tux, limo, and dinner for me and my date, who was a guy! I mean, really, they went ABOVE AND BEYOND the call of duty. I thank them so much from the bottom of my grease filled heart!

Off to take a quick nap.

Good day!