What is normal like?

Often times in this crazy world in which we live, we get caught up on each others differences, and trying to get along, especially in the social media age of today, takes us back to the playground at elementary school. I would venture to say most of us have varying opinions, and for the most part we are able to civilly discuss said various topics (even if they are political) without much damage or someone's feelings being hurt.

Not everything that happens in the world around us is going to be something we like or we agree with. Bruce Jenner (now Caitlyn) this week appeared on the cover of Vanity Fair, after her recent gender reassignment surgery. Gender reassignment and transgendered people are something that is not new. But for this topic to be in the limelight, and at the forefront of popular culture today IS new. Caitlyn Jenner is certainly not a transgender pioneer, as people such as Christine Jorgensen, Sylvia Rivera, and Renee Richards all transitioned in times when it was much less accepting as it is today. But Jenner should certainly be celebrated in her own right.

It takes guts to be yourself. 

If you have never had to not be yourself, then you don't understand what it's like. Being yourself is something that comes so naturally to most, but for others it can take years before they are comfortable being themselves. Please don't discount that fact if you don't simply understand.

It's O.K. to not understand everything of this world. My initial reaction to Caitlyn Jenner was that it didn't really affect me, and what someone does to their own body and with their own life has no affect on me. 

Sometimes we don't need to have reactions. 

A lot of people can confuse this with not being allowed to have an opinion. Having an opinion is a right. Whether that opinion will be well liked is another, but it's still a right. I saw many people share a photo of a double-amputee soldier with the caption, "Caitlyn Jenner won the Arthur Ashe Courage Award. The runner up was this guy: Army Veteran Noah Galloway, who lost an arm and a leg to a roadside bomb in Iraq, and now competes in Crossfit events, runs marathons, and competed in the 58-hour Death Race."

This fact has since been disproved, since ESPN does not award a runner-up for the Arthur Ashe Courage Award. The fact of the matter is, every year there is going to be someone that is absolutely worthy of the award but does not win.

Can we for once put down our self-righteous weapons and let people be who they are. Nothing is wrong with our nation for making things that were once taboo, normal. Being who you are is your normal. It may not be someone else's normal, but guess what? It's not theirs to have. You are you.

 Be yourself for god's sakes.