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Labels: My Personal Opinion

So in my other posts I’ve talked briefly about labels, but I’ve never really expressed my opinion on them in general. I think labels should be a personal choice. Now, let me just say once again that everything in here is my own opinion, and I am not trying to force it on anyone, I just want to express it. 

I think in our current society we feel a lot of pressure to label ourselves. Whether it be a gender identity, sexuality, or social standing label (such as nerd or popular). We see labels everywhere. In the media, in conversations, in our day to day lives. But what is so important about them? Why do we feel the need to categorize ourselves with a few specific things? After all, since everyone is unique, shouldn’t we technically all create our own labels? Not everyone can fit under a few specific ones so why not make more? However, if we’re all unique, why do we need to define ourselves? Why does society need to define us? I understand that as humans, we always seek answers and definitions to things. Why can’t we define everyone as a living creature, or a human for that matter, and leave it to that. We are all unique individuals, with different thoughts, personalities, preferences. So what is the point? In my personal experience, I find that labels tend to cause a lot more mental health issues. The pressure to know exactly what definition you fit under takes a toll on your mental health. I guess I just don’t understand the major importance of them. 

I understand the feeling of expressing who you are, and expressing your individuality. It feels good to fit under a label, and to be able to define yourself. Feel free to disagree with me, and share your opinions respectfully. If anyone would like to further explain the importance of labels then please do! I would love to hear your thoughts. 

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LGBTQ+ Education in my Community

Well- I started a project!! I recently emailed a bunch of my local radio stations with a list of trustworthy and reliable LGBTQ+ resources and asked them if they could post them on their websites for people to see!! They’re there so that anyone who wants to learn anything about the LGBTQ+ community or how to be a better ally has a good place to go to learn. 

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The Fear of Change

So- change. Scary right? Throughout 2020 and 2021 we’ve experienced lots of change. With the pandemic wreaking havoc on all of our lives, you’d think we’d be used to change by now, right? Wrong. It seems that even though change is everywhere, especially at the moment, we still can’t seem to get used to it. I feel like people are always afraid of change. I personally, am afraid of change. I fear change when it interferes with my daily routine, or that it will affect plans I have made that I’m excited for. Change is scary. Uncertainty is terrifying. We are all afraid of the unknown. Sadly, with COVID, there is no way to truly know what changes will be made and when. We will never fully know what is coming next. However, there are things we can learn about, and changes we can be educated about, such as the Black Lives Matter movement, or LGBTQ+ terms and changes. So if people are afraid of the unknown, why don’t they take the time to learn about things so it’s no longer the great unknown? That is one of the world’s biggest issues. We don’t know how to handle or accept change.  So let’s work on it. We have to accept the fact that things are changing, and always will change. 

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Just a Daily Update!

Hi everyone! I feel like I ramble a lot. Today was quite interesting for me, though it probably doesn’t seem overly exciting to other people. However, after having been stuck in quarantine for- a long time now, and being a social butterfly who is currently sad that I’m not in school. this has been an exciting day. Today I got to venture to the car dealership with my mother, for one of her regular services on her truck. The dealership is about 45 minutes away from our house, in a whole other community. Sure, I thought sitting there for the time that the service would take would be boring, but we ended up walking to McDonalds (high quality restaurant I know). I got a breakfast muffin and OJ, and got to watch someone mow a lawn. Very entertaining. We went back to the dealership and sat there for some time. Oh- we also had to drop off a fecal sample to the vet for my mom’s horse. If you don’t know what that is, it’s literally a horse’s poop that you take in for them to test for sicknesses and things. We ran a few more errands after that (I got to see the birds in the pet store) and then got Blizzards early in the morning from DQ. After returning home and finishing chores, I’ve concluded that my social battery is drained. Early morning this morning, early morning tomorrow. I hope everyone is doing well!! 

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Bisexuals vs Pansexuals

I feel like this is a topic we need to discuss. There is a lot of confusion and many arguments over Bisexuality and Pansexuality, and really two sides to said argument. There are people who say that they’re the same, and people who say they are different. Now I’ve done some research on this myself, having been involved with one of these arguments before. The definition of Bisexuality is “romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior toward both males and females, or to more than one sex or gender.” however, it also says that “It may also be defined as romantic or sexual attraction to people of any sex or gender identity, which is also known as pansexuality.” So really, it’s up to the specific person. The definition of “Pansexuality is sexual, romantic, or emotional attraction towards people regardless of their sex or gender identity. Pansexual people may refer to themselves as gender-blind, asserting that gender and sex are not determining factors in their romantic or sexual attraction to others.” So there is a difference, however from my understanding, these two sexualities can be left up to personal interpretation. In the definition, it says that pansexual people may refer to themselves as gender-blind. But they may also see gender, recognize it, be attracted to everyone regardless of that and refer to themselves as pansexual. It is really whatever label sounds the best to that person. We can not be entirely defined. So in conclusion. If someone identifies as Pansexual and you think (based on what you see) that they should label themselves as Bisexual instead, or the other way around. Don’t. You are not them. You are not inside their head. This goes for any sexuality or gender identity. Labels can not fully define us. They are more of a comfort factor than anything else. As humans, we want answers for everything. We want a definition because we fear the unknown. However, we can not always define things. Emotions and opinions can not be defined because they are different for every individual person. So stay out of other people’s labels and sexualities. It is none of your business what other people choose to identify as unless they ask you specifically.  

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Quarantine Check-In

I wanted to check in with anyone who’s reading this. How are you doing? Have you been doing anything fun? Is there anything exciting going on or that you’re looking forward to in the near future? Anything you need to get off your chest or talk about? I want to hear from YOU!!

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My Bunnies!! (My c h i l d r e n)

Cola- My black otter mini rex boy! He’s getting older and getting grumpy with his age. He’s had children now, and he’s decided that it’s time for him to retire from showing and just relax in his cage all day every day (he’s not retiring yet)  Aero- Aero is my soft chocolate otter mini rex! She is so sweet! She is one of Cola’s children. I decided to keep her because she kept licking me (she still does). She can be shy with new people though she is very curious. Due to COVID she hasn’t experienced showing yet, but I’m sure she will do very well. 

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Our Dogs!

I’ve decided I will do a post for each set of our animals, with their introductions!! So, without further ado, here are our dogs!  Ashton- We call him Ash for short! We got him as a puppy when I was two. A friend of ours was a breeder, so we got him from her. He is a purebred black lab. He’s now almost 13 and still full of life and energy. He loves to swim and be with us at all times.  Hunter- Hunter is Ash’s son and 2 times the size of him! He was unexpected. We were keeping someone else’s dog here for a time, and we thought she was fixed. Turns out she wasn’t and well- you know what happened there. We ended up keeping one of the two golden Newfoundland-Lab puppies and he is our resident goofball.  Lexi- Lexi came to us as a rescue. She is a border collie-beagle mix and very high energy! She is still learning all of the rules (and how to follow them) but she’s very smart. We’re hoping that she will become a disc dog! 

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Our Cats!

Here I will list all of our cats! Most of them are rescues, and all of them have very unique personalities and stories to go with them!!  Bella- Our little black cat. She is a rescue! She will eat aNyThInG!! Even salsa! If there is food around, she will find it no matter what!! Lilac- Grey little sweetheart! She loves everyone. If you pet her, she will be your best friend forever. She is also a rescue.  Tyler- Big dark grey goofball. He is a rescue. He will drool on you. He’s a little timid of new people.  Harley- Our short-haired ginger cat. He is timid. He kneads with all 4 feet!! He can be quite odd, when my mother went to get him at the rescue society he wouldn’t go to anyone there, and they were hesitant to let him be adopted, but he went right over to my mother and she got to play with him!! He’s been here ever since.  Marble- Dark calico. She showed up at my Aunt’s house, and had a litter of kittens. She would go and kill a pheasant to feed to them. We took her in, got her fixed, and brought her here. She isn’t so rambunctious anymore, however she does enjoy watching the little birds outside.  Ozzie- Our white cat with a little patch of grey on his head. We call him the peanut-butter sandwich cat. My step-dad was at work one day, eating his lunch when a kitten climbed through the window! He looked skinny and hungry, so my step-dad offered him a piece of his sandwich, not thinking the kitten would actually eat it!! He ended up coming home, we put out many notices and posts about a possible lost kitten and no one ever contacted us, so he became my step-dad’s cat. He is now our resident fat-cat.  Cinder- Big, fluffy, grey and a clutz! He is one of three kittens we rescued from my grandparent’s house. Their mother had been run over and killed by a car on the nearby road. They weren’t tame when we got them, so they had to stay in our bathroom for awhile. We had many adventures with them that I’ll share later.  Oliver- One of Cinder’s brothers. He is orange and fluffy. He is still pretty shy, but he likes meowing in our faces when he’s hungry! Dunkin- Cinder and Oliver’s brother! He is the only short-haired brother. He is white with dark grey patches. In fact, he has a mickey mouse on his back! He is my mother’s scarf cat, and enjoys sleeping in nooks as well.  Montie- Montie is one of our two newest! We got her and her sister when they were kittens (though I still call them kittens). They were from a surprise litter of kittens from my Grandmother’s house! Montie is like a mini Dunkin; she likes to sleep in nooks, be a scarf, and stalk people when she’s hungry. We call her ‘little miss boss boss’ because she is the ruler of the house.  Tuxedo- Tuxedo is my little fluffy tuxedo cat! We named her for the obvious tuxedo pattern on her chest (black with the white chest). She also has four little white feet! She is the princess of the house and has some very odd sleeping positions. She likes to make sleeping a challenge. She loves to eat fish food. 

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My 4-H Speech for 2021

I decided I should share my speech with you! Within it I talk about inclusion and equality for everyone, however I focused mainly on LGBTQ+ issues. It is in the 4-H format for a speech. Hope you enjoy and maybe learn something!! 

I would like to begin by saying that this speech touches on some sensitive topics that some people may find triggering. 

We currently live in an extremely diverse society. Everyone you meet is different, with different races, preferences, different minds, opinions and emotions. Yet for some reason, we are- as an entire community- segregating people who we see as openly "different”. Whether this is because of skin color, beliefs and religion, or simply because of someone's identity (or who they are as a person). Why, in our 2021 world that is supposed to be full of inclusion, equality, and understanding, do we still have so much segregation and stigma over a topic like who we are as people? Why do people still get bullied, left out, and sometimes even killed for who they are? It's important to start educating yourself and others on the importance of acceptance and understanding the definitions, proper terms, and differences within the LGBTQ+ community. 

The definition of stigma in simple terms according to the World Health Organization is “a mark of disgrace that sets a person apart from others.” This puts them in a stereotyped group. Negative beliefs and attitudes towards this group cause negative actions and discrimination. Negative beliefs and attitudes are normally caused by confusion, or mis-understanding, a.k.a., not enough education on that particular topic. Seeing as how there is so much stigma around talking about members of the LGBTQ+ community, as well as accepting them, this shows us that lack of education is mostly to blame. 

Now that we've established that there is stigma, and people are uncomfortable, we have to think about what impact these opinions have on LGBTQ+ people who experience discrimination and stigma almost every day of their lives. According to the Canadian Mental Health Association, LGBTQ+ people will experience discrimination and stigma almost every day of their lifespan, and are targets of sexual and physical assault, harassment and hate crimes. In fact, the amount of hate crimes motivated by sexual orientation more than doubled in Canada from 2007 to 2008. LGBTQ+ people face higher rates of depression, anxiety, OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder), phobic disorders, self harm or suicide, and substance abuse. 

So why do we have so much segregation and stigma in our society? Simple; people need more education. Zeke Stokes, Chief Programs Officer for GLAAD (An official group of journalists, reporters, and activists committed to changing the media narrative), conducted a group of surveys to see how uncomfortable non-LGBTQ+ people think they would be in certain scenarios. 2000 Americans participated in these surveys, with over 1700 having self-identified as straight, cisgender people. Some of the questions asked were whether they would be comfortable with going to same-sex marriage cermonies, or letting their children go to a house with one or more LGBTQ+ parents. Others were everyday situations, such as learning a family member is LGBTQ+, or having an LGBTQ+ person move in next door. 32% said they would be uncomfortable learning a family member is LGBTQ+, while 11% said they would be very uncomfortable. 23% said they would be uncomfortable having an LGBTQ+ person move in next door, while 6% said they would be very uncomfortable. 59% said that they would be uncomfortable learning that their child is dating a transgender person specifically. Any changes to these statistics are going to take time, as much as people don't like to admit it. Changing long-term social and cultural norms will take lots of education, persistence, and patience. Proper education on terminology, definitions, and how to handle situations which you don't understand should be made necessary for everyone. So what can we do to help educate people? If research is showing that people are more apt to accept if they understand, what can we do to help them understand, and have the knowledge they need to function properly in today's society? As well, how can we help eliminate the amount of mental health issues that are being caused by all of the stigma? In reality, the only way to be fully educated is to take the time to research, and ask many questions. Generally, LGBTQ+ people are very open to answering questions and are willing to explain how they feel if people ask them questions sincerely. It's important to remember that LGBTQ+ people just want equality, the same as many other causes. If someone asks a question that may help to support the cause, they will gladly answer it. I think this will make for a more inclusive community setting. 

I understand that this is a very large topic and I could talk about many more issues and details within it, however we have a limited amount of time. The most important thing to remember is that we are all people, though we may be different in many ways. Our differences make us unique. Support everyone, no matter their race, age, sexuality, or gender identity. Remember, everyone is working to achieve their own happiness. 

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Science is not a Boy's game. It's not a Girl's game.  It's Everyone's game

Nichelle Nichols

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A Little Bit About Me!!

Hello! I am very excited about this blog. It has been a dream of mine to start one, however I haven’t recently had the time or motivation to. Finally, here we are!! I am a High school cisgender girl, who is currently finding her way through our complicating and confusing world. I am hoping I can help educate people on some current terms and issues, and maybe convince some people to love and respect others, no matter what. I’d love to answer any questions, and I will try my best to answer all of them. If I don’t know some of the answers, I will honestly tell you, and provide you with a link or two that may help answer your questions!! With the current global situation, I think we all need a little bit of positivity as well, so I will be sharing a few photos and stories about my pets. You may find this surprising, but I currently have 11 house cats, 3 dogs, 2 horses and a pony, 2 rabbits (they live in my room!!), quite a few chickens, and of course, fish!! Every animal here has their own unique name (except the fish of course) and their own unique personality, and I would love to answer any questions surrounding them as well! As for hobbies, I enjoy 4-H (which for me includes public speaking, Rabbit showmanship, and leadership opportunities), musical theatre, playing a few different instruments, creating drawings, painting, writing stories, and educating myself and others on 2SLGBTQIA+ terms, definitions, and current issues as a part of my school GSA! I am working towards being a child psychologist/school counsellor, or perhaps a lawyer. I’ve grown up with divorced parents, two separate households and I am currently not seeing my father anymore. I will talk a little bit about some of my experiences with split households on a separate blog post. Well, I think that is all for now!! I hope to hear from some of you soon!!