My name is Alexis Chandrasurin, I currently attend the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. If you know anything about me, it's probably something along the lines of me loving breakfast foods, making people laugh, or even the fact that I love to watch hockey. What many people don't know though is that I am afraid, afraid to live in the United States of America. It may sound like the dumbest thing you've heard all week, but it's true, I am afraid. People always say we are the land of the free, but free is the last thing anyone is in this country.

Recently we have probably all heard about the Orlando night club shooting that took place a couple weeks ago. Over the past couple of weeks I have seen plenty of comments and opinions towards the shooting and the shooter himself. As a part of the LGBTQ community I was very shocked when I heard the news of what happened. When my significant other brought the topic up the other day asking me if I was upset and angry at what happened I told her I wasn't really sure. Of course, she got angry with me, not understanding why I wasn't as upset as her I guess, but I just didn't know how to tell her I was afraid.

After hearing the news I was more afraid than anything else. A fear I have always had since I have been out is that either myself, my significant other or even my friends could be beaten up, given dirty looks while out in public, or even killed just for being themselves. As of today I have been yelled at in a gas station, had people walk past my significant other and I holding hands saying, "Eww," and even bullied by other people.

When I heard the news my first thought was just "What if it was me?" Or even my significant other. The fact that there are people out there that are willing to just kill for things like this makes me scared to go out in public. Whenever I leave home to go to work or my significant other leaves for work, I never know if that's the last time I'll see her or not. It's not because she has a dangerous job or I have a dangerous job, but just the fact of us being gay could rub someone the wrong way and if they wanted they could possibly do something about it.

So yes, there it is, I am afraid to live in the United States of America. I can easily go for a walk in the park and that be the last time I ever do so. We live in a country where if someone doesn't like something they do whatever they want to please themselves but at no moment do they ever think of others. Land of the free yet we still have set laws against those who differ from the majority. What a country we live in.