How do you define yourself? I’ve heard a lot of people hate “about me” sections in which a person lists all their “titles” or “definitions.” Personally, I like them. It simplifies things nicely, and you get a very clear picture of how a person sees themself.

For example, mine might read something like this: I am a wife, a daughter, a sister, an aunt, a niece, and a friend. I am a Fightin’ Texas Aggie. I am a Catholic. I am a writer and fledgling photographer. I am an optimist. I am happy (most of the time – LOL). I am intelligent. I have a lot to learn. I am female. I am 30…

I could go on and on with titles and descriptive words for myself. I’m sure we all could if we took a moment to write down how we see ourselves individually.

If you’re outside of the Nashville area, you may not have heard the latest controversy in the news. A soccer coach at Belmont University found herself without a job recently after announcing she and her same-sex partner are having a baby. It’s ended up being  a big he-said/she-said story, with the focus being the belief that this coach was discriminated against due to her sexual orientation.

When I heard this story, I immediate found myself once again chewing on a somewhat similar story that recently came out of Aggieland, where members of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Aggies (GLBT) claimed they were harassed at Yell Practice due to their sexual orientation. (A statement that I don’t doubt, to be honest. You have realize its regularly listed as one of the top ten most conservative schools in the country and was recently named by Princeton Review as having the most conservative students. GLBT is going to take awhile to be fully accepted. I’m not saying I agree with that nor that I disagree with that. I’m simply stating it as a fact.)

However, the whole thing sparked a huge debate on various Aggie message boards. I read one thread for awhile until it made my head hurt. Ultimately, it came down to whether or not a homosexual person (or in the Aggie group, an organization) can be accused of wearing their sexual orientation on their sleeve. Whether or not they throw it other’s faces with the hope of causing some sort of scene or controversy.

My response is that… don’t we all do that about whatever thing we feel defines us most? For me, I’m an Aggie. THAT is the thing about myself that I can be accused of throwing in people’s faces. I have my former student sticker on my truck. There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t wear SOMETHING TAMU on my body (my class ring for one).

My husband is a master mason. He has a sticker on our truck, wears his ring, and regularly will talk about being a “brother” with anyone who asks. It’s what defines him these days along with his musician status.

For years, we discriminated (okay, face it, we still do at times, especially here in the South) against people based on their color of skin. Many have, over the years, been persecuted for their religion. Today’s discrimination du jour seems to be sexual orientation. However at the end of the day, none of these decide if a person is capable of doing a job.

So within that, if I can choose to place a Texas A&M sticker on my truck or my husband can have a Masonic symbol, why shouldn’t someone be allowed to place a rainbow on theirs.  There are people who are pro-life or pro-choice. I’ve seen stickers, buttons and t-shirts about religion, sports, politics and even who is a person’s favorite musician!

We choose to define ourselves one way or another.  However, at the end of the day, what matters most is that others be willing to see past our own personal definitions and get to know us for ALL that we are. Because we are all unique, and we are each the sum of our beliefs and multiple-definitions. I am uniquely me. You are uniquely you. Shouldn’t we all embrace those two simple facts, and take a moment to see each other for all that we each are? I sure think so…