Emily Rachelle Writes

Shortly after the Orlando shooting, I published my Christian Closet post to conclude the series. I said then that I would speak more on Orlando when I could gather my thoughts. As the new president of my school's sexuality and gender discussion group, I decided to share those thoughts through the group's website. For those of you interested in reading, the link is below. "It’s been 36 days since the shooting. Not even one day for each life lost, and yet our country has largely moved on. Terrorist attacks in Iraq and France, political news across the States and new racially-charged deaths in the south have replaced the victims of Orlando in Facebook conversations and Twitter debates. With so much violence heaped upon violence, hate built on hate, how is anyone capable of grieving and remembering every life lost? How is one Christian overwhelmed by the bloodshed to respond?" Read more on the website.

Once upon a time, there lived a little Christian girl in a little Christian family who led a good homeschooled Christian life alongside her youth group Christian friends. Saturday mornings were reserved for evangelism. Modesty was the most important part of her wardrobe. Her greatest dream was to get married and have eight kids. ponytails have just never been my look Once upon a time, that girl was me. I thought feminism was wrong and God's plan for me was to be a homemaker. I thought I couldn't be a functioning adult woman until I knew how to sew my own clothes and bake from scratch. I was convinced that four boys and four girls was the ideal family size. Nope.

Hello, my lovely readers! It's been a long while since I've done any reviewing. Between college, work, internships, and extracurriculars, I haven't had the time to make any reviewing commitments. Earlier this year, though, I got an email from a representative of FishFlix.com asking if I would review a film they'd send me. I picked a genre, they mailed me a DVD, and this week I finally had the time to put together my honest review. I might be a bit rusty at the whole critiquing thing, but I tried. Here we go! About the Movie: Eternal Salvation  by Eternal Salvation Productions, LLC FishFlix Listing IMDb Page Movie Website Jonathan Wright (Bradley Snedeker) has it all, a prestigious job, incredibly beautiful wife Amy (Jessica Morris), gorgeous 7-year-old daughter Megan (Isabella Cuda) and countless friends.  Having recently been appointed to Sr. Vice President of business relations for a well-established investment banking firm, Jonathan believes he is on t...

Between finals week, moving out of the dorm, and my summer internship, I haven't kept up with the blog. I hope to get a few more posts up this summer. I've been working on this last Christian Closet post for a month now. It would be wrong of me to continue my blogging on the queer community without stopping to acknowledge the abhorrent event that recently rocked that community. Since the murder of 50 people in a gay nightclub in Orlando on June 12, my friends and I have been reminded just how fragile our hard-won freedom is. We're reminded to count every day a blessing and never let go of each other. In a world where men and women even younger than me are shot and hung and beaten for an intrinsic part of their identity, the freedom to be ourselves is rare and worth clinging to. Eventually I hope to say more about Orlando and the victims of this bloody, preventable hate crime, but right now I still need time to process the loss and collect my thoughts. I've...

Sorry for the skipped week, readers -- the end of the semester is getting tight here at university. But we have two more weeks left in this series! R ebecca Bauman Name: Rebecca Bauman Age: 20 Gender: Genderqueer/ Genderfluid/ Non-Binary (I use she/her and they/them pronouns) Sexual orientation: Queer Religious denomination: Mennonite Education/career: Bachelor of Arts and Science (completed 2 years) Favorite food: I like to mix it up with various vegetarian creations. Taco salad never fails to please. Favorite book: I’m eclectically indecisive and love to read. Good LGBTQ+ fiction is Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe  by Benjamin Alire Sáenz. Favorite movie: Good Will Hunting Favorite color: Rainbow ;) (I am especially fond of the reddish hues) Hobbies/sports/interests: Reading, writing, learning (this seems to be a common homeschooler affliction) hiking and camping, singing (sometimes with my guitar or cello), spoken-word poetry, i...

Zack Name: Zack Age: 22 Gender: Male Sexual orientation: Gay Religious denomination: I was raised in a Nondenominational Evangelical Church and joined the Episcopal Church in college. Education/career: I’m currently finishing a bachelor’s degree in biology and public health, and going back to school to get a nursing degree. My dream is to be a public health nurse and work for a government agency or NGO in an underserved area. Favorite food: Chicken tikka masala Favorite book: To Kill a Mockingbird Favorite movie: The Prestige Favorite color: Green Hobbies/sports/interests: I love reading, spending time with friends and family, and I’ve recently started watercoloring. Myers-Briggs type: ENFJ It’s really hard for me to pinpoint the first time that I realized I was gay. I do remember being told at a very young age that people choose to be gay, so I didn’t have the framework to understand why I was so different from the other boys. Being gay was simply not an opti...

Steve Stevens Name: Steven M. Stevens Age: 27 Gender: Male Sexual orientation: Gay Religious denomination: Non-denominational Education/career: Illustrator Favorite food: Lasagna Favorite book: Life of Pi Favorite movie: Amelie Favorite color: Do sparkles count? If not, blue. Hobbies/sports/interests: Drawing, champagne, Pizza, and Pugs (in that order) Dreams/goals in life: Write and illustrate a children’s book Myers-Briggs type: Adventurer ISFP "Being myself for the first time in my life is truly a gift."