Showing posts with label utah. Show all posts
Showing posts with label utah. Show all posts

Tuesday, December 24, 2013

Holiday Miracle in Utah by E

My home town in is Utah, even though I'm not right now, and I am so happy that marriage equality has, unexpectedly, reached that state.  There has been so much controversy over the last few days about all of it and because of my meds (hooray anti-depressants!!) I'm only feeling true emotion in short bursts.  When those bursts do hit I feel so happy that, if I wanted to, I could marry the woman of my dreams in my hometown and it would be just as legal as if I had married the man of my dreams.

If you enjoy reading law journals, which I do when it's about something awesome, I suggest you read this article, published in Michigan Law Review in June of 2012 about the constitutional basis for keeping your marriage intact when you move from a state that supports marriage equality to one that doesn't. I am hoping that it will be lawyers like this author, cases like the ones the brought down Utah's Amendment 3 and DOMA, and people like myself and my family that will bring marriage equality to the federal level.

I personally am not planning on getting married unless I'm going to bring children into the equation, but should I decide to get married, I want to do so without the fear of having my union nullified only because I love, and want to start a family with, a woman. I want to be able to look into my love's eyes and tell her that our love is now recognized by the law and that nothing can keep us apart; we are now family and connected legally to each other.

I have friends and family who do not believe in marriage equality and that leaves me at a crossroads: do I unfriend them on Facebook and ignore them in the real world, or do I just shrug and say "oh well"? The fighter in me wants to tear these people apart and say, "YOU LOVE ME BUT YOU DON'T THINK I SHOULD BE ABLE TO MARRY THE LOVE OF MY LIFE AND HAVE THE SAME PROTECTION UNDER THE LAW THAT YOU DO?!!" I want to show them the hundreds of pictures coming out (teehee) of the great state of Utah that show how happy the couples are; the tears and kisses and hugs and dedication! I want to show them all of the legal precedence that has been laid. I want to show them that they are on the wrong side of history, that they are anti-freedom and anti-love, they will be viewed by their grandchild the same way we view racists of the '60's and '70's.  But the pacifist in me knows that I won't change their minds and quicker or easier than they will change mine.

This weekend has been a crazy one and the coming weeks, as this legal battle develops, will be even crazier.  Until then, this is a holiday miracle that will not be forgotten: same-sex couples were able to marry in Utah!

Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Autonomy Interferring WIth Me Getting Help, Again

Ever had such strong emotions about something that you can't keep them bottled up? But you can't tell anyone you know? Not that you don't want to tell anyone. You want to tell someone, but you can't bring yourself to? This is the case with me.

First, I realize this is finals week and stress is at a max. But, I know myself. I don't stress enough on my finals. I try to put pressure on myself but pretty much the only difference between me pre-finals week and finals week is zero video games and this insane desire to clean everything.

Anyways, what I want to tell people but I can't.

This blog is about breaking the silence. And I wish that I had some cool, clever username and could be completely anonymous. Instead, Dupree knows me and reads my stuff. Tif, MJ, Jo have met me in person and can put a face to me. Two friends (both names starting with E) read this blog and talk about my posts with me and each other. Jay, my ex-boyfriend of three months, reads this blog. Hell, if my mother had the mind to, she could read this blog (but doesn't normally, mainly because I think she has a hard time remembering).

Admitting my feelings, my thoughts, can be quite difficult. It is almost like I only reveal my feelings selectively rather than with complete honesty. Everything I say is completely true but not everything I want to say gets said. So, realize that admitting to anything can be difficult because I'm not completely anonymous.

So, I'm taking a bit of leap when I say this. I'm starting to have doubts about my half-asian. Not because I don't think he's wonderful. Not because of any mistakes he, or I, have made. But because I'm stressed, not able to sleep and just getting insecure about my life and future.

I'm graduating in December 2013. That is a year away. And when I graduate in 2013, I want to get away from this forsaken land. What was the one futurama quote about Utah? "Well, in those days, Mars was just a dreary wasteland... much like Utah. But unlike Utah, it was eventually made livable... in 2636." I want out of this place, and I can't drag Half-Asian around with me. He's stuck here with his mother.

And this moving thing is really grating on me. But...
- He has acknowledged this problem well before I did. And hence why he didn't want to get too close because I could be leaving soon.
- He brings this problem up often, noting that he wants me to make my own decision, uninfluenced by him.
- He assures me things don't work out no matter what the present might say, calling on his experiences with his ex boyfriend that he had for over a year. He assures me that just because things might not work out doesn't mean one of us did something wrong.

Basically, he is giving me plenty of opportunities to call quits because of my schooling, letting me know that it wouldn't be my fault. So, no pressure at all is being put on me by him. All the pressure is purely mine.

Unfortunately, I think the reason why this is so... difficult... is because I like him. Way too much. I love his facial expressions and how he thinks he's so good at lying and covering things up. I love the way we can make fun of each other, no harm done. I love how cuddle time often devolves into competitions of insults and humor and stories of our pasts. The way he uses metaphors to understand the world around him. How he sees the world as simplistic in places I see it complicated. His ways of trying to prove to me that he is my equal, almost like he doesn't believe that I do see him as more than an equal. Just, I love SOOO much about him.

But there is so much more to life. I want him. I want to leave Utah. Around Half-Asian, I would choose him any day. Not around Half-Asian, I've recently been flip-flopping. And I'm conflicted.

Maybe this is a phase. But I want advice from people. I want to tell people this so I can get outsiders opinions. But I can't bring myself to tell people my problems, probably due to my pride in remaining autonomous. So, let me hope this post will help me tell people so I can discuss this more. If my confliction is a phase, I want out of it. If it isn't... I REALLY want advice, opinions. And either way, Breaking the Silence is the best way for me to deal with my confliction.

So, here is the post.