30, queer, in school

So I was asked to write an op ed piece for a queer journal at the school about being "30, in school, and queer".  Apparently that is a "challenging yet aspiring combination".

Uhm what?

I'm 30, not dead.  I'm in school to learn.  I'm queer because my partner is a hottie.

But I'm pretty sure that won't suffice for the 125-175 word article.

So here I sit, on the blog, trying to work out the words that will make an impact, yet not sound cliche and stupid.  Isn't that the fear of every writer?  To sound cliche and stupid is worse than death in some circles.

So I guess my thing is I am 30, but I am still going strong.  Yeah, it has taken me a bit to get my shit together so go to school.  Honestly, I wouldn't be here if it was for my partner telling me that it was time.  School has always been daunting for me.  Yeah, I'm smart, but that doesn't always translate into schooling well.  I'm also dyslexic and despise not understanding something.  Math has brought me to tears more times than I care to remember.  But I digress.  School is important.  So I came back.  Technically I started back in school when I was 27, but ended up taking a couple semesters off because of adoption situations that fell through.  So yeah, it's taken me three years to reach junior status, but I'm here.

As for being queer and back in school, it is what it is.  I have no real feelings that being queer has done anything for to me in regards to learning.  Yeah, some pathways are a bit more difficult because of shit that's happened in the past, but it hasn't stopped me.  It can't stop you.  Being queer doesn't mean you can't learn or are unemployable or anything like that.  Being queer is just one aspect of a complete person.... I am not a queer who happens to be a person, I am a person who happens to be a queer.  I'm not sure why being queer is part of this equation.

As for school.  Do what makes you happy.  Some people don't want to go to school, that's cool.  Some people want to go and that's cool too.  Whatever makes you happy is what you should be doing, nothing less.

So there you go.  I'm 30, queer, and in school and that's how I feel about it.  Now to polish that and submit it.

Until Next Time.