Nick Yotts "Nora Yotts"

Nicholas Yotts

Prof. Tierney

Journalism 100-B

12/11/12

Nora Yotts

Nora is an amazing human being.  What makes Nora amazing is that she has overcome so many trials in her life that have to do with the fact that she is gay.

In today’s world, homosexuals are discriminated against and we hear about it all the time on the news.  We all have heard a story at some point about people protesting against gay marriage.

Nora is a very charismatic person and she is an inspiration because of everything she has overcome.  It’s hard to imagine how difficult it must have been and how difficult it still must be for her.

While she was growing up, especially during her freshman year of high school, Nora was very confused.  She knew that she was different from everyone around her but she didn’t know what to do about that.

Nora’s parents never knew that she was gay nor did they suspect anything.  “There was nothing about how Nora acted that made me think she was gay but I wasn’t looking for anything,” said Nora’s mother.

Just before her first year of high school, the only friends she had were straight so she didn’t really have anyone to talk to.  There was no one around who could relate to her situation or help her through it.

Once she got to high school she met and became friends with people who were openly gay.  Her new friends helped her by introducing to other openly gay people and by introducing her to the LGBT group in Boston.

When she finally realized she was gay, she said that somehow she always knew.  “I was more relieved then anything now that I was actually able to be myself and not have to worry about trying to fit in,” said Nora.

However, now that she realized that she was gay, a number of concerns came to her mind.  Some of these concerns had to do with her religious beliefs and what people would think about her.

“I really struggled with the religious aspect of my life and I somewhat still do to this day.  I still identify myself as a catholic and how it’s a moral sin for me to love who I do so I guess that was the biggest change,” said Nora.

Another concern Nora had was that people of her own religion condemned homosexuals.  She would hear fellow Catholics says that gays are going to hell when they die.

 “I’ve come to terms with the fact that where we go after we die is based on how we live, but I don’t think God would put me here with such potential for loving someone [of the same sex] if it meant I was going to hell,” said Nora.

One day during church, the Deacon began preaching about the evils of same-sex marriage.  He told the congregation that as “good catholics” they should go to rallies and write to the congress to vote against same-sex marriage.

On the drive home she started to cry.  Her mother asked why she was crying and Nora said that she was mad that the church wasn’t more accepting of gays and same-sex marriage.

When her mother asked if she was gay, Nora said she wasn’t.  When her mother pressed the question Nora said she had gay friends and they deserved to be happy too.

What concerned Nora most was what her family would think of her.  “My family is everything to me and if they ever thought negatively about me because I was gay it would kill me,” said Nora.

However, when Nora told her parents she learned that there was nothing to fear.  Her parents accepted her for who she was and didn’t love her any less just because she was attracted to members of the same sex.

“We told Nora that we loved her and wouldn’t change her sexual preference even if we could.  Being gay is part of who she is and we wouldn’t change anything about our children,” said Nora’s parents.

Ironically, it seemed like the only people who didn’t guess Nora was gay was her family.  In fact, throughout Nora’s life it seemed like people were already guessing the possibility that she was gay.

“When Nora was in first grade, I had a friend tell me she thought Nora was gay.  Nora hated dresses and dolls and she always wore a baseball hat, jeans, and sneakers,” said Nora’s mother.

The only concerns her parents had to do with people discriminating against her in the future.  They were afraid that her friends might think negatively towards her now that she was openly gay.

 “If a friend thought negatively of me I wouldn’t really care because then they weren’t really a friend to begin with but it does bother me when people who don’t know me discriminate against me,” said Nora.

Nora and her parents were also afraid of what her other family members would think.  So they decide that Nora’s parents should be the one’s to tell everyone just in case there was a problem.

Nora’s parents told everyone in the family when the time was right and they all took the news very well.  Nora’s brother said, “It all made sense.  It’s almost like I always knew.”  Nora’s mom said,  “I’m glad that being gay isn’t the taboo it used to be.”

Nora no longer is afraid to be who she is and now she has the support from her family.  They reassure her that there is nothing wrong with who she is and that there is nothing wrong with being gay.