It seems that the world wants us to be one thing or another, but nothing in between. Society doesn't easily accept when you want to be both. You're straight or you're gay. You're a Republican or you're a Democrat. You're a boy or you're a girl. You're rich or you're poor. You like something or you don't.
While I was studying music, I had to take mandatory piano courses. During these classes, I learned the importance of the black keys—the sharps and flats. If we limit ourselves to only the white keys, music usually becomes boring. We need those sharps and flats, those half steps, to make music interesting. In music, those black keys are important. They give musicians opportunities. They are the delicate or bold or intense seasonings in the music. Now don't mistake my appreciation of black keys for a dislike of white keys. The same is true for white keys. We could not make music without the white keys, either. We simply need both.
In life, the in between "notes" are also important. We need people who are okay with being the gray that comes between black and white. We need a middle class. We need independent political parties. We need people who won't conform to society's definition of who we should be.
Just as we need people to be doctors, we also need fast food workers. We need mailmen and housekeepers. We need dentists and construction workers. We need reporters and history book writers. We need both. The world needs you, and the world needs me, but the world doesn't need you more than me or me more than you. We need us all.
I guess I always liked the black keys. I am a black key. I'm not one thing or another. I'm both.