Since I was a young girl there are two things about life I’ve known to be true.

1. There is a God
2. Homosexuality isn’t a sin

However ever since I was a young girl people have tried to sway me to believe otherwise. Not as much about the God thing as the homosexuality thing. But I found it important to mention both because they seem to go hand in hand. Or they don’t if you believe what you hear. These are things I’ve been told about homosexuality over the course of 36 years. Seriously, it’s only 3 things so I’ve picked and chose:

1. Being gay might be like an illness, who are we to say we can’t pray it away?
2. My child would know better, we’re god fearing Christians
3. You can’t be a Christian and be a homosexual. You’ll understand better once you’ve been in the church longer. It just doesn’t work like that.

Through all of my 36 years I’ve thought these people seemed, not exactly hate filled, but uneducated. I never once listened to what they had to say and believed their side of the argument. Never did I think that maybe they had a point. No, I have always known that any variation of sexes can choose to love one another. 11 years ago when I began having children I taught them the same. I can only hope that like me, they just know as well.

#OrlandoStrong #OrlandoLove

My city suffered a tragedy on Sunday/Monday at a nightclub called Pulse. The biggest mass shooting in American history with 50 dead and 53 wounded. My neighbor who I love very much is a surgery nurse at ORMC and she worked a very long 24+ hours. This is typical for her, but this day was even longer and more trying than usual. More people are affected by the situation than you would originally think. But our city will still pull together and survive. Already our citizens have lined up and waited 10+ hours to donate blood when it was needed. If they couldn’t donate blood they donated food and water to those waiting to donate blood.

I’m proud to live in this city and I will continue to be proud to live and love freely as I always have. I don’t have smart words today, my brain just isn’t working properly. I ask that you embrace diversity and love freely as well. #OrlandoLove Hate Will Never Win. #OrlandoStrong