In a society that is constantly changing, we find that day by day we as individuals are changing too.The we are allowed to express ourselves is changing, as are the people with whom we can share this self-expression. Social media makes it possible to show the rest of the world the type of person each of us is or can be. However, even with this opportunity, we still see that there are many people out there who are having a hard time accepting this change.

Not too long ago, being a very conservative person was the social norm. Everyone wanted to fit in with everyone else. Seeing as this was normal, no one frowned upon it. However, as our generation got older, we broke out of this conservative shell. In just the past few years things that we could never possibly imagine having become acceptable have become a societal norm.

LGBT pride has always been something people have feared as a hard thing to express. Whether one is a part of the community or just an ally, many people in older generations have made it hard for us as a younger generation to be accepting of it and support it. Even after gay marriage was declared legal in all 50 states last year, it is still difficult for many people to accept this loving and peaceful community. This lack of acceptance mostly comes from the older generations who grew up believing, through religious and personal beliefs, that being LGBTQ is not “normal.”

What is the problem with not being normal? I think that standing out is way better than conforming to social norms, but that is just me. I am not telling you that you need to view every person as a good one; not everyone out there has grown to be good. But not accepting someone for being who they are gives them a reason to come back and disregard you for who you are.

We as a society need to be more accepting of those around us because our planet has become a place where war and pain have become more routine than peace and love. We need to stop letting foreign and domestic terrorists attack people who are just living their lives. We need to stop allowing attacks like the Orlando Pulse shooting happen to individuals in a place where they should be able to be themselves and feel safe. The world needs to start accepting people for who they are and allow them to go on and spread the peace and love in the world and not pain and suffering.