Dear homophobes, transphobes, and anyone disgusted by the LGBTQ community:

I know why you hate me. I know why you are afraid of me. You think that I am damaged and disturbed. You think that I am an abomination, a vial sinner that drags innocent souls down to the pits of hell with me. You think that I am a predator that spreads disease.

In reality, we are no different than you. We are someone’s daughters and sons. We love our families, our children, and our husbands and wives. I am a senior in college in the top percentile of my class, and I dare say my parents are very proud of me. We are human, and we want basic human rights.

It is heartbreaking how much you truly hate us. It is sad that you indoctrinate your children into your beliefs. No child should be taught how to hate. But should instead be taught how to love and accept others. It is sad that you truly would like to see me dead, when I have never done a damn thing to harm you in any way.

Instead, I harmed myself because of your hate. I wanted to kill myself before you could kill me. You told me I had no right to live, and I believed you. I believed all of your indoctrinations. After years of bloodshed and tears I realized that you are the damaged ones, not me.

I am happy. I am loved and I love myself. My sexuality does not define me or dictate any aspect of my life, but it is part of who I am, and I am thankful for that. You can harass me, beat me, or even kill me, but you will never take away the love that I have for myself. Face it, part of why you really hate me is because I am happy.

And this will really grind your gears: we are not afraid of you. You may think that you look scary on the nightly news as you harass us in front of stores and deny us service, but we in the LGBTQ community know our history. We know that the founders of our community were imprisoned, brainwashed, tortured, and executed long before you came on the scene.

We have watched our brothers and sisters die from diseases you refused to help treat and from your abuse in the streets. We know that the path laid out before us was soaked in blood long ago. We will never forget the founders of our community and their sacrifice. We will never be shaken by any of you.

Hold up your signs and shout your insults. Tell us we will burn in hell. The real hell is what you create when you tell a transgender or lesbian child that they are a monster. That is truly hell.

We are here, and we have been since the beginning of time. We are not going back in the closet. You can take away everything, but we will not stop fighting. The men and women before us certainly didn’t.

This happiness, this life I have created, and this lineage I continue on can never be taken from me. I’m here, I’m queer, and I am happy.