My Hero

Kimberly Rodriguez
2A
May 13, 2014
My Hero!
Ever since I was younger, I knew that I was different. I knew that I wasn’t like the rest of my friends. I knew that I saw everything and everyone differently and the feelings I had inside me were different from any other person I knew. I wasn’t sure what I had felt. But my mind didn’t think straight. In 7th grade, I finally figured out what my sexuality was and what my interests were. I never told anyone because I felt as If I were going to get judged and humiliated by the whole world. At the time I didn’t think I’d have the courage to ever tell anyone about me. But there was someone I later met someone that saved my life by getting stronger.
At the beginning of 8th grade I attended Eisenhower Jr. High School. Later that year I transferred to a different school. The new school was a charter school called American Prepatory Academy. I didn’t want to leave my current school. My biggest fear about moving was leaving my friends behind and meeting new people. I was scared to be the new girl with no friends. At that moment, my only desire was to stay in that school.
On my first day of school I didn’t know anyone. All I saw was a bunch of strange new faces. I saw people that I had seen before in the past such as old friends but then never talked to them again. As I went to all my classes I felt as if thousands of eyes were staring at me. I wasn’t sure what to do or what to look at. With all the eyes staring at me, the air was full of awkwardness. The schedule for that school was a lot more different than the previous school that I attended before. There was eight class periods every day. By the middle of the day it was 4th period. As I remember, time seemed to be going by very slow that day. My 4th period was a class where all we had to do was work on homework and catch up with all our missing assignments and get our grades up. I had no body to talk to in that class and I finished doing my work and suddenly this very kind girl came up to me and starting talking to me by saying, “Hi what’s your name…? I responded “My name is Kimberly and yours?” “My name is Melanie,” she said. After we introduced ourselves we started talking about people we both knew and we noticed that we both had a lot in common.
Late that year we began to get closer. Little by little I gained her trust and she gained mine. After she had proven that she was a great friend, I trusted her with everything and anything. Anytime I was in need of a friend to be there for me or needed help or advice I would always go to Melanie for advice. Melanie was the type of friend that would stop anyone from making the wrong decisions and led anyone to the right path. She has always known what’s right and what’s wrong.
Finally, I then knew that Melanie was my best friend. And I knew she would never judge me and she would always support me and stick by my side, no matter what. By that time I knew I had found the courage to come out by telling Melanie my biggest secrete. I explained to Melanie my sexuality. At the beginning, Melanie was surprised because she didn’t expect for me to be the person I am. She never judged me. She accepted me for who I was. In that moment I felt as if thousands of pounds were released off my chest. After I had come out and told her about me , she came out to me as well. She had told me that her sexuality was the same as mine. We both began talking about our feelings and what we both had gone through during the time of wanting coming out to the world. We instantly knew we both had gone through the same past experiences and struggles.
I then knew I had to be able to find the courage to finally come out to all my friends. I was extremely scared at first. I was scared of what others would think of me being gay. Melanie Tried so hard to encourage me so that I wasn’t afraid. She gave me so much advices as if she was a therapist. Little by little, I began telling everybody my sexuality. She told me “only the friends that love you, will always be there to make you happy. True friends don’t put you down by judging you. In the meantime, if they don’t accept you for whom you are… Then they might as well walk out of your life because you don’t need anybody that doesn’t need you.” I thought she was right and I found the courage to tell my friends I was gay. The more I told people I was gay the less complicated it began for me to come out. I then realized it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. But until this day, I still wish coming out was as easy as telling someone your favorite color.
Till this day, Melanie is currently now my best friend. She is my ride or die. I would literally stand in front of a bullet for her. She has impacted my life by showing and proving to me what a true friend really is. She has been there for me for a while now. I truly treasure her friendship because I know that I will never find a best friend like her. I don’t know what I would do without her stuck by my side.

Submitted by Anonymous

Inspiration