Undergraduate /
Gay Rights and Why I want to attend- Vesalius College [12]
Write in your own words a one-page essay on an issue of local, national, international or personal interest that is important to you.
(GAY RIGHTS IN HIGH SCHOOL)THERE'S NOTHING GAY ABOUT INJUSTICE
While there are many issues that are important, there is one that stands above the rest: gay rights in high school. There have been a number of reports coming to the forefront of the nation of teens committing suicide. The one thing they all have in common? Every one of the suicides happens to gay teens who can't take any more bullying or discrimination at their school. In fact, an estimated 6 million gay people every year commit suicide and that's the number just in recent times. That number doesn't even include the many others that have faced the same discrimination in the past centuries. Some have called it the "silent holocaust" that means that in four years more people have been killed for gay rights than both the world wars combined. The issue of gay rights have been debated and argued about for years, most notably starting in the 1960's with the sexual liberation movement. To me, gay rights shouldn't be an issue at all. In a society where everyone has rights and freedoms, for people to be bullied for being who they are doesn't reflect the changes in our modern times.
Having an openly gay best friend has made this topic very personal. "That's so gay" or "faggot" are used in everyday conversations between teens, teens that don't have a problem with gay people. Yet, they continue to use this kind of language, more often as an insult. By using those terms in an insulting manner is comparing being gay as being bad or wrong. Now, most teens don't mean it that way however it still doesn't change the fact that they use it as an insult. No one would dare use the N-word or say "that's so black", so why should people be allowed to associate being gay as insulting? Most people against homosexuality say that it's not right, that it's not normal. What exactly is normal? Who says what's normal and what isn't? To me, being normal means being ordinary and what's more ordinary than loving someone for who they are.
There's also the time aged argument of religion vs. homosexuality. In most religions, homosexuality is looked as at a sin, most notably in the Christian faith where naysayers say that homosexuals will go to hell. The Bible says that a lot of things are wrong such as touching the skin of a dead pig (Lev. 11:7-8), eating shellfish (Lev. 11:10), wearing garments made out of two fabrics (Lev. 19:19), women wearing pants (Deuteronomy 22:5), etc. There are a lot of sins, but there is only one unforgivable sin and that's rejecting Jesus' salvation and the Holy Spirit. Therefore, a person can be homosexual, yet they can still go to heaven because the "sin" of homosexuality can be forgiven. Nothing in the Ten Commandments say anything about homosexuality and those are the worst sins. Therefore, religion cannot be used as an excuse to discriminate against homosexuality.
As most of us can remember, high school was hard enough to face even without being deemed 'abnormal". Although gay teens in modern times are more readily "coming out of the closet", so to speak, there are those who still have a hard time. Teens today have the advantage of most of the society accepting them for who they are, there are still those who continue to have problems with people being themselves. There's nothing wrong or immoral about homosexuality. The only thing wrong is how close minded some people are to those who deviate from the norm.
Using the space below, please tell us about your goals. Why do you want to attend Vesalius College? Where do you see yourself ten years from now?
Growing up, I knew what I wanted to be a journalist. Like most children, when time passed I realized that my first job choice, wasn't the best one. I kept hopping from one career to the next because it seemed that everyone wanted to know what I wanted to be when I grew up. That frustrated me as I felt like they wanted me to have my whole life planned out and at that age I was only interested in colouring and playing tag. It wasn't until I grew older, that I stumbled across a magazine that featured women at work. I read it, thinking it would be interesting. It didn't occur to me at the time that I would find my perfect job. The job included my goals of learning a new language, travelling to different countries, and helping various people. It seemed ridiculous that I would find a job that was so utterly perfect that if I was hired, my goals since childhood would be completed. That job is a Foreign Service Officer. I began searching for more information, all led to schools offering International Relations as a major. Like my dream job, I stumbled across Vesalius College quite randomly. I read about it on the website and began to grow excited about the prospect of attending. The small class sizes, the international student body, and the location are the reasons why I'm interested in Vesalius. Since Brussels is the heart of Europe and the epicentre for European politics, there isn't a better location for the school to be located. I would be able to speak with people who are involved in international issues and actually have a say. There are numerous internships available that would enable me to gain valuable real world experience. All my life I've lived in a bubble that has been filled with the same people since childhood. To study in a different country for my post-secondary education would break my bubble. It would introduce to a whole new world that I wouldn't be able to imagine. It would make me have to grow up and mature into the person I aspire to be. In ten years I would have my college degree in hand and be employed by the Canadian government as a Foreign Service Officer. I would be in location in a new country, discussing policy changes to social welfare issues and speaking with NGO's on ways to bring attention to their cause. I would be involved with many of the major decision making processes of the country and Canada. I would be strengthening ties between Canada and other countries. Most importantly, I would be making a difference.
Thank you for your help!