by Georgia McClellan
For most people, going to college is a new, wonderful adventure away from home where you get to make new friends, discover your passions and for some of us, explore our sexuality.
Ahh sexuality. Such a strange beast to try and conquer. but college is absolutely a great place to start thinking about it and maybe figure some things out.
Anyone in the LGBT community can confirm that figuring out your sexuality is a pain. It’s hard. But I also know that anyone in the LGBT community will say figuring out their sexuality and accepting it is one of the best feelings in the world. Being able to feel confident with who you are is a major key to a fulfilling life.
Now, you might be a person who has known your sexuality since chilling in the womb but you could never express that where you lived. You might be someone who has questioned your sexuality a few times but never knew how to explore that. You might just now be questioning your sexuality for the first time as you read this and that is okay.
Many of you freshmen are away from home for the first time and living in an entirely new environment. That can be extremely intimidating and stressful but it is also such a cool experience. You have an opportunity to live the life that you want to live and explore what that life can give you.
Be who you want to be. Do what you want and do who you want. It doesn’t matter. Just be safe.
I understand that some people don’t like to think about their sexuality because it can be extremely scary. Scary because of how you think your family and friends will react, personal religious views or even being afraid of the community.
Coming to Grand Junction, I was a little skeptical on how open this small conservative town would be toward people like me. At times I still worry about it, but being at CMU really changed my outlook on how I would be treated.
Speaking from experience, CMU is an amazing campus for diversity and inclusion. We have some great resources to help students be comfortable on campus and be comfortable with who they are.
There is a Gay Straight Alliance that has meetings every Tuesday at 5 p.m. on the second floor of the University Center to help build a community on campus. There are counselors at the Health Center if you’re struggling with your sexuality and just need someone to talk to. We even have peer counselors over in Albers Hall if you’d rather talk with a fellow student.
If you are struggling with your sexuality it’s okay. College will hopefully help you discover who you are and what you like. My advice for going about this is to kiss some boys and kiss some girls.
But most importantly, love yourself and know that no matter what your sexuality is, there is a place here for you at CMU.
