The Other Side

I, myself, is not a pro-gay or pro-lesbian kind of person. I was the kind of person who judge people by how they act and who they are. Normally, if I see a gay/lesbian person, I would cringe in disgust and automatically think: this person is abnormal, I should stay away. I always thought that these people were the black sheep of their family. People who should be ashamed of themselves.

When I saw these video and letter though, my outlook for gay and lesbian people changed.

A letter was written by a father learning that his son was gay:

Dear hypothetically gay son,

You're gay. Obviously you already know that, because you told us at the dinner table last night. I apologize for the awkward silence afterwards, but I was chewing. It was like when we're at a restaurant and the waiter comes up mid-bite and asks how the meal is, only in this metaphor you are the waiter, and instead of asking me about my meal, you said you were gay. I don't know why I needed to explain that. I think I needed to find a funny way to repeat the fact that you're gay... because that is what it sounds like in my head right now: "My son is gay. My son is gay. My son is gay."

Let me be perfectly clear: I love you. I will always love you. Since being gay is part of who you are, I love that you're gay. I'm just trying to wrap my head around the idea. If you sensed any sadness in my silence last night, it was because I was surprised that I was surprised. Ideally, I would have already known. Since you were an embryo, my intent has always been to really know you for who you are and not who I expect you to be. And yet, I was taken by surprise at last night's dinner. Have I said "surprise" enough in this paragraph? One more time: Surprise!

OK. Let's get a few things straight about how things are going to be.

1. Our home is a place of safety and love. The world has dealt you a difficult card. While LGBT people are becoming more accepted, it is still a difficult path to walk. You're going to experience hate and anger and misunderstandings about who you are out in the world. That will not happen here. You need to know with every fiber of who you are that when you walk in the front door of your home, you are safe, and you are loved. Your mother is in complete agreement with me on this.
2. I am still, as always, your biggest defender. Just because you're gay doesn't mean you're any less capable of taking care of and defending yourself. That said, if you need me to stand next to you or in front of you, write letters, sign petitions, advocate, or anything else, I am here. I would go to war for you.
3. If you're going to have boys over, you now need to leave your bedroom door open. Sorry, kiddo. Them's the breaks. I couldn't have girls in my room with the door shut, so you don't get to have boys.
4. You and I are going to revisit that talk we had about safe sex. I know it's going to be awkward for both of us, but it is important. I need to do some research first, so let's give it a few weeks. If you have questions or concerns before then, let me know.

That's enough for now. Feel free to view this letter as a contract. If I ever fail to meet any of the commitments made herein, pull it out and hold me to account. I'll end with this: You are not broken. You are whole, and beautiful. You are capable and compassionate. You and your sister are the best things I have ever done with my life, and I couldn't be prouder of the people you've become.

Love, 
Dad

P.S. Thanks to a few key Supreme Court decisions and the Marriage Equality Act of 2020, you're legally able to get married. When I was your age, that was just an idea. Pretty cool, huh?

(source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-kinnear/dear-hypothetically-gay-son_b_1757663.html)

I'm not saying that you should become a lesbian or a gay. What I'm saying is that:

If you hate lesbians, don't be one

If you hate gay people, don't be one.

If you hate people judging you, then don't be one.

The Hero and The Legacy

I don't really care about people remembering me as something "Great" or "Heroic". Sure, it does sound good, amazing and it makes me feel important (trust me, I don't hear a lot of those things). I don't want to be forgotten, too (I actually have a phobia for that). I want everyone to see me as who I am and not something I'm not. I won't pretend to be 'loving' or 'selfless' just to impress. But thinking about it, having a legacy does sound good... That's if I'll ever have one. I prefer no legacy than a FALSE one.

If people will remember me, I want them to remember me as the kid who always made their spirits glow. Someone who always cheers them up when they're sad. Someone who lightens up the mood with jokes. Someone who can make a hard problem fun. Someone who, even in the darkest of times, remembers how to turn on the light. I want to be someone who causes happiness wherever they go and NOT whenever they go.

"It is not how much we have, but how much we enjoy, that makes happiness" -Charles Spurgeon.

I also want to be remembered as a person who never gave up on them, who continued to support them even if he declares defeat on himself. A person who says, "You can do it" and someone who made them trust and believe in themselves. A person who believes that he can do better.

"Believe in others. Believe in yourself. If you don't, who will?" - Jon Bon Jovi

"Whatever you want in life, other people are going to want it too. Believe in yourself enough to accept the idea that you have an equal right to it" - Diane Sawyer

"Some people say that I have an attitude- Maybe I do. But I think that you have to. You have to believe in yourself when no one else does-that makes you a winner right there" - Venus Williams

I don't care how people judge me. I don't care if they are impressed or not. You know what I care? I care about how I changed their lives, I care about how God sees me. I care about how I lived my life to the fullest. 

"Don't try to impress people, always be yourself!" - Bella Thorne

You see, having no legacy is ain't that bad. Sometimes, you don't need to be acknowledged to know you're a hero. 

The Heart of A Hero

Heroes..... Since I have two black-white personalities, I have 2 interpretations on who my hero is: ME as in MY COOLEST SELF (no boasting here, note the sarcasm) and EVERYONE (who I believe is the hero of their own stories and somehow, a part of mine too).

If you count fictional characters........ well.... THIS STORY WONT STOP!

But since I can't find anyone worthy and less mainstream enough to call "My Hero"..... why should I look anywhere else? My answer is just within an arm length, LITERALLY.

<-- This is Nicole Mejia, She's 14 and she lives in Maragondon. Actually her house is just a couple of steps away from the school. She likes a lot of corny jokes.

v <---- She's Diana Rose Romano, 14 years old and she lives in Apolonia, Naic. She's a bookworm by heart.

------> v Now, this is Ejy Villanueva, an otaku and she also lives in Naic. She's turning 15 this July. (Speaking of that.....)

That's Princess Buendia, one of the Naic townspeople ans she just turned 14 this June (like me!!) She's a fangirl for Koreans --v

You might think..... WAIT, THEY'RE MY CLASSMATES RIGHT?! Yes, that is cards on the table, but thinking back, why can't your hero be one of your best(est) friends?! This guys here affected half of my current life. They may have different personalities, but that's what makes them special.

Let's start with Nicole. I met her in Grade seven and my first impression of her was: she has her alarm bells ringing. But when we spent time together and got to know each other, I found out that she was nice. She rarely gets into trouble and she's very responsible. Even though we're complaining about things and people, she'll say "Hey, stop. You might get in trouble for that, just let it be". She sort of saved me from a couple of troubles. Besides that, she also happens to make great jokes.

Diana Rose is addicted to books. She's practically living inside pages. Every free time, its either a paperback or a digital e-book. We share tons of likes. Sometimes, when I want to talk about something she can't relate, she lets me talk without complain. I really appreciate that. DR always treats me food and this time, when I was collecting Happy Meal Toys, she gave me this toy FOR FREE. She's really generous and kind.

Ejy on the other hand is sort of like my twin. We agree on the same things and act the same. When I feel like laying down the job and too tired to get up, I just ask her, and she'll hand me the things I need. She understands me, and she's mostly the one who relates/knows what I feel; maybe because she felt them too... We share the same experiences and have lots of fun remembering those.

The last, but not the least, is Princess (Also known as Oh-Great-Teaching-One). When I was in Grade 5, I don't have any friends at all and people don't like me much. But Princess and I spent lots of time with each other and somehow, she got through my shell. She became my first real best friend. Now, we (including the whole clan of D'Arvits) spend lots of time together. She's the only one 'patient' and 'generous' enough to keep teaching me Mathematics and Anal Geom, without her, I may not have passed a couple of exercises.

Without them, without my friends, I may not be the same Maysa as the one who's typing here. These people who affected my life so much, are my 'heroes'. They may not be soldiers or someone who had saved a life, they still have the heart of a hero. And somehow, that is the one that counts.