I first went hunting and shot my first deer when I was around 8 years old.
I, of course, had learned how to shoot a rifle before (what irresponsible guardian lets someone go hunting without knowing how to shoot the rifle?). Hunting for my family was our source of food. We were able to save hundreds to thousands of dollars by eating venison instead of buying beef. I know how to handle guns well, and will probably own one when I am fully independent.
I am a white, evangelical Christian who grew up in a small town in north Texas wearing a lot of camo. By any and all stereotypes, I should be a strict conservative. I mean, let's be real here, I went to a Texas public school. I grew up around guns, God, 'Murica. And even now, I have value for those three things, but I definitely find myself on the left of the political spectrum. I consider myself a feminist, find myself defending BLM when someone calls them a terror group, and am fairly critical of US history. Despite growing up around guns, I am pro gun control. Despite being devoutly Christian, I fiercely defend the separation of church and state. Despite an upbringing and environment that generally results in one train of thought, I have found myself on the other.
This use to be kind of disturbing for me. Political beliefs were always presented as coinciding with one certain identity; an identity which I did not and never will fit. I thought that being Christian meant being conservative, that loving my country meant being conservative, that growing up as a little redneck girl meant being conservative. So, as I began to find myself more and more on the left side of issues, I thought that meant giving up part of my identity. Luckily for me, I have learned that humans are complex and multifaceted beings. I am a redneck liberal. And sometimes it can be confusing as a part of my identity. But that's the fun thing about identities: they aren't made up by just one or two parts of who you are, but rather a huge, colorful, and beautiful mesh of you.
We spend a lot of time finding boxes to fit ourselves into based on a standard or stereotype. And, often, if you don't fit into a box others will simply deducts parts of you so you do fit. My life is a very small example of this. There are people all over the world who struggle much more with who they are and how they fit into the world around them. The only thing that should matter is that you are being true to yourself while respecting everyone else's right to be true to themselves. Break out of the box that others try to put you in. Look at and observe the world from your own point of view.
I'm a redneck liberal, and you may be something just as weird.
Embrace it, and live your life as true as you can.
