Strangers in the Night

I like Lady Gaga. Wait, that's not exactly right. I admire Lady Gaga. I adore her music and love the messages she sends to her fans.


"Rejoice and love yourself today, cuz' baby...you were born this way."


I recently saw her performance of You and I at the 2011 VMAs. She was dressed as her alternate persona, Jo Calderone, who is a Greaser-type man with a penchant for dancing, drinking, and smoothing out his coif. She has been called a man, called transgendered, called so many other things, and this performance combined with with other recent songs (Born this Way for one) takes it all in stride. I can just hear her saying, "So? What if I was? Would that be bad? Or wrong?" And you know what? I agree. What if she was? Would she be any less inspiring to me? Would she be any less real?


Absolutely not! It wouldn't matter a single bit to me, because what matters is the music. Is her expression and passion for feeling good about yourself.  She doesn't always wear the same thing or act the same way not because she can't figure out who she is, but because she KNOWS who she is...and it is always changing! She lets herself enjoy...she lets herself have fun with who she is and how she chooses to express herself. 
We are who we are...on the inside. 
So what if you were born biologically male, but in your heart you feel like a woman? 
So what if you were born biologically a woman and you are attracted to other women? 
So what if you feel comfortable dressing in another gender's clothing? 
Own it. Accept you for you. 


This is a hard lesson for me. I'm not preaching to the choir in this post...I'm talking to myself. I have a lot of trouble accepting myself and not hating all my eccentricities, my emotions, my depression. But they are all part of me. Nothing will change that. I am trying to realize that it is okay to be what I am. It is okay to be me. In fact, it is pretty awesome.  I am pretty awesome. It is hard to even write it...let alone believe it. But every day, I get a little closer. I may not ever reach complete acceptance of myself. But it isn't about reaching the goal. 


It is about what you do on your way there.


So Reader, I'm glad you are here for my journey. I would love to hear about your journey as well. After all, aren't we all just travelers passing through this place?