Is The World Strange Or Am I Strange?

Last night a good friend of mine had a minor identity crisis.

I won't bother with names, but people who know me may be able to work it out. So please, don't mention it if we meet each other in the real world, unless you know you can.

So this friend consoled in me that they wish they were straight. That they hate that they aren't and they'd never admitted it before, but they really do. I joked that I'm trans*, I know what it's like to hate who you are. But you get over it. Hell, you can't choose who you want to sleep with, and it doesn't really change who you are as a person. They said they wanted to go to a camp in America where they make you normal again.

I walked my friend home because I was sober and they weren't, and they said I'm wonderful, and really good to do this, even though they could make it home alright. We negotiated and I ended up walking mostly all the way.

But as if all that heartbreaking stuff wasn't enough. They said they don't want me out at night because 'you're different, like I am. And that means you can get hurt too.'

What I'm trying to get at is that we're just kids. We're on the cusp of hitting 17 but we're so very aware of the dangers of being who we are. My mate was buying roses for his grandmother and the woman behind the till asked if they were for his boyfriend. We were both called 'girls' by our librarian the other day. Not to mention the stories we hear of LGBT* kids being beaten or worse just because of their orientation or lifestyle. I don't need to build myself up to Boys Don't Cry to know the true story behind it.

Kids shouldn't have to watch behind their backs as they walk back to their house after being sure their drunk friend is safely home, because they promised not to get beaten up and they don't want to mess this promise up. I'm always so adamant that I can be a mature adult, but the truth is that I'm nothing more than a kid with a binder and a constant identity crisis.

I'm not usually this pessimistic, I intend to bounce back tomorrow during my Star Wars marathon to celebrate May Fourth, so the general business of complaining about school and other dull things will resume shortly.