Identity

How I’m addressed has always kind of been a thing, for me. When I was little, I had a friend who, in the span of a week, went from calling me Rachael, to Rachie, to Ray-cheese, to Stinky Cheese, to Limburger. So, there’s that. For most of my life I’ve insisted on using my full name. I even insist on my full complement of vowels, which is challenging, since the biblical spelling was much more popular.

Yesterday someone shared a Medium post that I really liked reading. It has a lot of bits that really resonated with me, talking about being part of the queer community and dealing with the recent attack on the LGBT community in Orlando. In particular, this quote: Am I allowed to feel this devastated, this full of rage? Am I gay enough to be this upset? Am I appropriating the grief of real gay people?