There are names and labels for everything lately. LGBTQ is a community right now. I hope I don’t leave off a letter because I do respect everyone. There’s transgender, cis-gender, non-binary, etc. Then, there’s people identifying with race and ethnicity. Finally, everyone identifies with a certain disorder, OCD, Bi-Polar, Anxiety Disorder, PTSD, etc.
I have great respect for all people, but when I think of myself and my story, even though I have OCD and anxiety disorder they don’t define me. Being a woman who is half Hispanic and half Caucasian doesn’t define me. I really don’t want anyone or any society to label me and group me with other people. I’m not built that way. I never identified with anyone. I never looked at another human being and thought that their experience was similar to mine. I’ve always felt like an alien and I don’t understand why I need to be grouped in with others.
It makes me think of that old story about the ugly duckling. At the end of the story the ugly ducking finds out that it wasn’t an ugly duckling, but a beautiful swan. The bird finds a group where it belongs. That’s great for a children’s story, but in real life, can’t this ugly duckling just be a different duckling? What’s wrong with that?
God created me perfectly and He loves me perfectly. I don’t need to identify with anything else except His love. I wonder what our world would be like if there were more ugly ducklings running around being confident in themselves.
My faith saved me. May God’s peace reside in all of our hearts.
