Weekly Writing Challenge: 1,000 Words, Take Two

Last Updated on October 7, 2023

Looking at the picture above, the first thing I think of is envy. I’m not usually an envious type of person but looking at the photo above, I will openly admit that I am envious of the guy. Oh, and I am envious of the girl. Within this picture, I see two young people hugging each other, able to be openly affectionate with one another in public without a fear in the world. I see a life that I can only hope and pray to one day have. I don’t believe any amount of words, not even a thousand as instructed in this challenge could ever put into words just how badly I wish I could mimic what is taking place in this photo.

I know people will say that I am fortunate enough to live in a mostly liberal area and that the people around here are rather accepting of gay couples, but regardless, I can not shake the feeling that there will always be limitations on just how affectionate gay couples can be in public places. There will always be that ‘one person’ who gay people are afraid are watching and judging when they are with their boyfriends.

Holding hands – fine. Hugging – maybe. Kissing – I just can’t imagine it ever being fully tolerated by each and every person that lives in my general area.

It’s funny because the guy and girl in the photo above probably were not thinking anything of it. They were most likely just spending the day out in some town in England, maybe grabbing a cup of coffee from a local shop and getting ready to jump on that little train thing to go somewhere? Who knows? The bottom line is that they look really happy together and society had no problem with it.

I’m too scared to even tell my parents that I am gay. I sometimes even hesitate to tell other gay guys that I’m gay. It’s a problem! I want to be able to hug some guy, a boyfriend… while standing on a staircase in the middle of an old fashion street but I do not know if it will ever be possible.

I do not know that I even understand what the big deal over homosexuality even is. Ok, so a guy likes a guy? Is society afraid that one day we will all wake up and every guy is going to decide that he wants to be gay and never have kids with a woman and slowly watch as the human population diminished globally until the point of our extinction? I don’t understand. Being gay, to me at least, means that you’re emotionally and physically attracted to men, and isn’t that the bottom line? Why is it so bad to like guys? I don’t know a single person who walks around labeling everyone they see as “straight” so it would be great if everyone in the world would also stop labeling the gay people that they see.

I’m not lying when I say that I have never once been able to stop a gay couple in public in my entire life. I’m not joking. I can truthfully say that in all my years of being alive, I have never once seen and recognized a gay couple. Isn’t that sad? The fact gay partners have to act casually and suppress their emotions to be fully accepted in society? When I was little, maybe I simply didn’t pay attention and even notice it but I’m saying that even now, at this point in my life, I can still say that last statement in total honesty.

To add to that, I’m not sure if I can even name more than ten gay people that I know from my own life (people from TV do not count). Let me count real quick and see what number I get.

Ok, I counted and got closer to twenty. BUT STILL. Twenty versus the number of straight people I know is nothing. Try counting how many straight people you know- good luck.

Anyway, the northeast is a rather accepting area and I’m fortunate to be living here. I feel bad for the gay kids from some southern areas that are centuries behind us in creating an overall gay-accepting society.  Just look at the progress we have made! Just the other day, a kid from the state of New Jersey was all over the news for announcing that he was an LGBT student to his whole senior class during their high school’s senior awards ceremony. It became a big deal! (I’m not exactly sure why, considering he wasn’t the first one to publicly announce his homosexuality- but it was a big deal nonetheless.) And by the way, does everyone realize he knew he was being videotaped? Doesn’t that almost take away some of the meaning behind what he did and give it the overall feel that as a student looking to go into acting (His award as best actor), he might have just done it for the attention and publicity? What do I know? That is simply the impression that the whole story gave me.

Going back to the photo, maybe someday I’ll be able to retake a photo much similar to that one. May it will be with a guy? Maybe it will be with a girl? Who knows? Either way, my ultimate wish is for a world filled with happiness where everyone gets along, tolerates, and tries to accept one another. I think everyone should be allowed to love whoever they want to love as long as they are in a happy and healthy relationship with one another. Two guys should be able to hug one another without having the worry about the people around the two of them turning their heads and making sny remarks. Two girls should also do the same, although, for some odd reason, women are generally less criticized for things like that even nowadays. Either way, I know that society will get to the point of total acceptance someday, but the better question is when…

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The Rocky Safari