When I joined the theatre department, I had entered a whole new world. There were tons of sights and sounds and everything blended together. Even so, one thing in particular stood out to me -- the lack of men participating. This year, there were only four young men. That was just barely enough to cover the main roles we needed for "Legally Blonde." The rest of the male roles were given to the girls who felt comfortable in that strange and generally uncomfortable spot.

In theatre, there is a large hierarchy of roles. In order to make a full production that doesn't seem awkward or empty, you have background characters that don't do much except interact in a normal fashion (albeit they do this silently). The better of a balance of genders you have, the better and more natural a scene might look. It's very hard to do this, though, because like in my drama club, males tend to be far and few between. Why is that?

Choose whatever word you may, but it could all be summed up in a variety of single words. Stigma, stereotype...or maybe even gay. That's right. Gay. Being called "gay" is why most young men don't join drama club. A few handy young men might join stage crew because the word gay isn't attached to doing "manly" things. I've had many moments where in class, I wanted to cry. We'd be reading aloud and one of the football players would read so beautifully, or maybe I'd hear them humming an awesome tune, or even just acting goofy with their friends. I mention "Hey, you should join drama! You'd be great at it" and I get told, "No, that's for gay guys."

Let me tell you about a young man named Kieffer. I got to know Kieffer a little bit over the course of "Bye Bye Birdie." However, I was ensemble and he was a supporting lead. There wasn't a lot in common with our characters. However, in Legally Blonde, I got to play Enid Hoops who was a supporting main character. I got a lot more time to interact with him between scenes, and we helped each other out with costumes, microphones, the whole nine yards. I felt really comfortable with him by the end of it and I found him to be a really nice friend. As a senior, it hurt to say goodbye to him. (And if he somehow is reading this: Good luck in all your endeavors.) He is extremely talented and it was a great experience to be able to act with him. But you know what Kieffer isn't? Gay. He has a lovely girlfriend, Raquel, who I absolutely adore. One thing he said to me really made me laugh, but it's so true, and it has been said by many brave young men many times. (Excuse the paraphrasing.) "The least gay thing you could possibly do is join a club where you're the only guy with 30 other girls."

I can think of a couple guys who joined theatre and are revered. In fact, I can list off my three favorite examples: Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt, and Ryan Gosling. Now I could attest to how life went for them back at home, before they took off. Unless it's in the National Inquirer, people don't just call them gay without getting a huge backlash. That's because we, as a society, have double standards. It's alright if a celebrity gets liposuction, but god forbid if Suzy gets it done! Even when a celebrity is homosexual, they often are respected for it and called brave. It's time that we apply that kind of thinking to any young men who join theatre at home. They are brave for getting up on stage and expressing themselves. They are brillaint for memorizing their lines and knowing what to do when someone else fails. They are beautiful for moving the emotions of the audience. They are actors just as much as Johnny Depp, Hugh Jackman, or Harrison Ford are actors.

Finally, here's my other beef with not joining theatre over being called gay. Who cares? If you aren't gay, you should be able to join theatre knowing that you aren't, and someone calling you that won't change it.

In theatre, you will find a large network of people who are willing to support and stand up for you. If you are, then what does that even change? You're still as into the opposite sex as you were before...theatre didn't enhance it or anything. I'll say it once and I will say it again, for the rest of my life. A label should never stop you from doing something you enjoy.

Being called gay, weird, crazy, or anything should never stop you from joining theatre. Likewise, if you want to join a sport but someone says you're too skinny, underweight, nerdy... ignore them. Brian Beissel, who gave an amazing speech during my baccalaureate told us this: "Live your life abundantly." He told us that we should not worry about money or worldly possessions. Our main concern should be living our lives to the fullest because we have been blessed with this amazing gift of life. If you think theatre will make you happy on a high school, college, or professional level, then pursue it. If sports makes you happy, go after it. Do not let your inhibitions keep you from doing things.

Ever since I stopped caring about what people say about me, I've been going out with friends and doing more things. My boyfriend recently looked at me and said, "I'm so glad that you're going out and doing a lot of the stuff that I regret not taking advantage of. Keep doing that." You might go to practice every day thinking, "Why am I doing this to myself?" but by the time you are done, you will realize that it was worth it. When you are 30, you will look back on pictures and you will be proud of your younger self for going out and doing what was good for you.