"Do you want to try to solve a riddle? I have two moms and two dads, but my parents were never married and I'm technically adopted. How is this possible?"

There are two copies of my birth certificate. On one, my father/guardian is listed as, "unknown." On the other, my father/guardian is "Kathleen Lincoln." It wasn't until about ten years ago that I realized most kids just have one birth certificate, and that under the spot titled "father," a man's name is listed. I was born as a happy and relatively healthy baby to two wonderful women almost 18 years ago. For the first eight years of my life, I had no idea that I was one of the small percentage of kids that have lesbian moms. Not only that, but my biological father was a gay man that my parents were very close to. Whenever someone asked, "Why do you have two moms?" I would simply answer that they loved each other. I never imagined that people thought of my family as odd, disgusting, or unholy. To me, my moms and I were just another regular family, on another regular block, in another regular suburb.

In 2008, my perceived bubble of normalcy burst. Proposition 8, a measure to formally illegalize gay marriage in California, was put on the ballot. A majority of the kids in my school had never even heard the word "homosexual" before Prop 8 made an ugly appearance in our lives. Suddenly, all of my peers (well, more like my peers parents) had an opinion on whether or not my family had the right to exist. I had been sheltered from hatred and intolerance for most of my life, but was thrust into spotlight in a matter of days, and forced to experience it to an extent that no nine year old should ever have to. Families who I thought knew and liked us posted: "Vote Yes on Prop 8" signs in their front yards. Kids who had recently learned that being gay was "different" began using it as a slur. People started questioning: if my moms were lesbians, was I one, too? I cannot count the amount of times I have heard people whispering, "Did you hear Kate's a lesbian? Yeah, her moms are f*****s, too."

I had no idea how to handle this sudden change in my life. When I would go on the computer to do research for my school projects, I would end up seeing articles that were titled “Proposition 8 Favorable in Polls,” “Can Gay Parents Raise Kids?” and “Children Suffer When Raised By Homosexuals.” How could people ask those questions? Why did it matter if my moms were both women? Does having them as my moms really negatively impact me? In the past decade, I've come up with answers to all of those questions:

1. People are uninformed. But, they are entitled to their opinion, even if I don't agree with it.

2. It doesn't matter.

3. No, it doesn't. If anything, having two moms has made me a better, stronger, smarter person.

Proposition 8 passed in November of 2008, but not before my moms planned and staged a wedding in just two weeks. Their wedding day is one my most cherished memories. The opposition and intolerance we faced, and still face, made us a stronger family and stronger individuals. I learned to love my mothers and myself through times of adversity and hardship. I learned how to stand up for my beliefs; when I heard someone remark, "That's so gay," I wasn't afraid to tell them it was inappropriate to say that. I learned how to love my church and my faith, even though my church didn't always love my family. And most importantly, I learned that people, and even the world, can be changed if you put effort into changing it. Gay marriage was illegal in my state just eight years ago. Now, it's legal throughout the entire country.

I still get asked the question, "What's it like having two moms?"

My answer?

"The most awesome thing ever."