Dear older gay women:

Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for being out and proud. You give me hope.

I grew up gay in a tiny southern town without any queer women who were "out" and over 18 around me. I didn't know that older gay women actually existed until I got to college. I didn't come out as queer until my sophomore year of college.

The first gay woman I ran into at Warren Wilson was the Dean of the College, Paula Garrett. We haven't had many interactions, but I remember her saying in a speech once, "Reading made me gay." It's not so much that I have a strong personal connection with her, it's the just the simple fact that the DEAN of a college--of MY college--is a gay woman that makes my heart sing.

There are so many lesbians who work on campus, and each and everyone of them contribute to my happiness and well-being.

The next gay woman I met, I now work for. It took her six times meeting me to remember my name, and even though I work for her now, she still mispronounces my name. I don't have the heart to correct her. And that's the thing, even though we don't really have much in common, I look up to her. She's successful. She's still hot. She's proving that being a gay woman isn't a phase.

Then there's the infamous Laura Vance; she taught my intro to sociology class. She's the reason I came out to my mom. She's the most intense person I've ever met, and she's f*cking brilliant. Ya know what else she is? REALLY F*CKING GAY. Once again, proving that this whole gay thing...it's something to celebrate.

And of course, this wouldn't be complete without mentioning the bookstore manager. When I have dyke drama, she is the first person I go to. She is a fountain of wisdom and humor. She always makes me feel better.

There's a reason that Warren Wilson College is the most LGBTQ-friendly school in North Carolina. It's because they practice what they preach.

I came out my sophomore year of college, and I was OK with being a lesbian. But it wasn't until I was riding in a car to Selma for the 50th Anniversary of the march across the Edmund-Pettus bridge with Mandy Carter and two other queer female students that I felt proud of being gay. The reason that Mandy Carter was with us for that trip is because of the school. Mandy went on to be our activist in residence in the spring semester of 2016. Our school also invited Jasmine Beach-Ferrara, the founder of the Campaign for Southern Equality, to a couple of panels last year. One on politics, and one for International Women's Day. She's also going to be the first openly gay Buncombe County Commissioner. She's the reason I can picture myself running for office one day.

So thank you. Thank you to every single gay woman I have met in the past three years. From the office of the Career Development Center to the office of the Dean of the College to the campus bookstore to the social sciences departments to the hard sciences departments to athletics to visitors, the gays are everywhere on campus. Whether you work for the college or not, you have helped a young queer woman navigate the weird heteronormative world that we live in. Being a gay woman in the south ain't exactly easy, but you all make it look so...normal. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Love, from the bottom of my heart,

Ayla