Liberty and Equality for All!!

I woke up this morning and  I am still so happy/proud/ecstatic for all the positive energy I felt from yesterdays Supreme Court Rulings. I could not stop reading all the updates on my Facebook newsfeed of all my friends celebrating.  I know the change is going to keep on coming and I just hope it doesn't slow down after this huge success.

I am sure that most of you reading this blog know my passion of being an Ally for the GLBT community. It all started when I was in 5th grade and my sister told me she was different, she was gay. I remember crying all the way to my tumbling practice in the car. It was something I always thought but to have her validate it made it real.  She was shopping in the boys section for shorts and I remember feeling frustrated because she was a girl! Like me! Why weren't we shopping in the same section? Through the years it was a kind of a hushed conversation because my family did not know how others would or wouldn't accept my sister.  I am proud to say that not one of my friends every loved Vanessa any different. I became prouder than proud of who she was and how she carried herself.  Although I was emotional and possibly even sad when she told me she was gay  I am happy to say that her coming out has been one of the most rewarding experiences I have had in my life.  I will never be able to express how happy I am that she is my sister and YES she is in fact Gay.  I don't even want to think of what may have become of me if she wasn't. I would hope I would still be on this side the right side of history but honestly there is no telling.

 

While at A&M I was involved in an organization called Aggie Allies.  It started with a training that made you a safe haven for GLBT Aggies. Your name was put on an email server so anyone if they needed to could get in contact with you. I was involved with this for two years and then in my first semester of Graduate School, I met Lowell Kane in one of my classes.  Lowell is just the most AMAZING person ever.  He founded the GLBT Resource Center at Texas A&M and has recently moved to Purdue University and he started another Resource Center. He works tirelessly and with his whole heart to help anyone and everyone.  He asked if I would be interested in a Graduate Assistantship with the center for the following year and I happily agreed! My last year in grad school was fabulous and it was because I met so many passionate human beings and was involved with so many projects.  I was so sad to leave but I left with that fire still in me.  I will be forever grateful to Lowell and all that he has taught me.

 I remember when he first hired me he told me it might be a good idea to watch some of the documentary dvd's we had at the center. As the year went on and I learned more and more I accompanied Lowell to A&M classrooms to present facts and also issues that the GLBT community faces.  I remember being SO nervous talking and he told me " Amanda, you're going to be a teacher. You can do this and talk in front of people". I still do. Some friends still ask me questions and I get so excited to answer them the best that I can.  I got a text from a friend a few weeks ago that asked what the entire GBT acronym stood for.  In case you are interested it it GLBTQQIAP. Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgendered, Queer, Questioning, Intersex, Asexual and Pansexual. :) One of my favorite things we did was the Guess Who's Gay Panel. There would be 6-8 people on the panel and there was a mixture of identities. The group could ask anyone or the whole group a question like " What is your favorite movie? How many pairs of shoes do you own? What were you for Halloween? Any question other than are you gay, straight or bisexual? We would leave the room after 10-15 minutes of questioning and the audience would vote and give reasons why they voted the way they did. In all the times I did this probably 10-12 times I was only voted straight once.  It is a way to show you cannot judge a book by its cover.

My time at The Resource Center was golden.

Also, if you have never heard of the NOH8 Campaign check them out! NOH8 Campaign
The founders Adam Bouska and Jeff Parshley started the campaign in reponse to Prop 8 which is now gone!! WHOO. I was lucky to get to help out two times with the campaign. Once when they came to College Station and once in Austin.

Volunteers in College Station: October 2010

Volunteers in Austin: May 2011

There is still so much more to fight for but we do need to celebrate the victories from yesterday. Here are some pictures that touch my heart.  Love all of you, thanks for reading! Love is Love.

Our friends that are family. Elise and Amy Briones. Married in Austin on June 8, 2013.  It was the most beautiful ceremony I have ever witnessed.  Amy said in her vows "Growing up, I never fit in. I never had the homecoming or the prom. Today it's my turn.  Its our happy ending".  There was not a dry eye in that audience! 

Fellow Aggie, David Elizondo. David now works for the Human Rights Campaign in D.C. I love to see all the amazing pictures he gets in the press! Keep up the great work, David!

San Francisco City Hall

Karla and Haley recently moved to California. They were out celebrating last night!

US Airforce over California...... 
Just amazing that the united states government would prepare for a historic day and tell their pilots, tomorrow we will load your planes with color smoke and form a rainbow in the sky showing support to lgbt community. Taken from Lowell Kane fb page. 

Hands Across Aggieland march in my last weeks at A&M.