Things I have strong opinions about

So my new semester officially started. My college does this weird thing where we take a 3 hr class every day during January. I was in Social Psychology this year which I enjoyed but I'm ready for a different schedule now. I am really grateful that I had so much free time over the past couple months. It helped me to feel rejuvenated. 

 I generally don't have strong opinions about things. I tend to go along with the opinions of others pretty easily but there are a few things I do have a very strong opinion about.  Sometimes when I speak about it I can come across as judgmental or harsh and I know that's something I need to work on. However, I wanted to share them here because I'm often better at expressing my thoughts in writing than verbally. 

Fair warning these are my personal opinions, values, and convictions. Please do not take offense at what I say. I have very limited exposure to these matters and the opinions I've formed are based on the environment and teaching that surrounds me. 

1. I do not want to ever have my own kids. My friends and family are sick of hearing this because I bring it up at least once a day (ok that's a slight exaggeration but not by much). Even thinking about pregnancy and birth really scare me and gross me out. I realize that many women want to have their own children and I'm trying to respect that but I just don't understand it at all. In my perspective this baby growing inside you takes all your time, energy, resources, etc. and gives you nothing in return. As they grow up they may rebel against you. There's no guarantee they won't become a mass murderer so why are you devoting your entire life to them? I know that sounds harsh but I'm just expressing my own thought process and why I can't understand the desire to have kids. 

That being said I do want to foster/adopt children. Not babies but children probably around 10 or so. 

2. I do not believe in drinking alcohol. Now this is a very controversial topic and I realize that. But not drinking is a personal conviction of mine for several reasons. 

First and probably most important is the history of drinking in my family. Not gonna go into details but it is sufficient to say there is a history of alcoholism in my family and I've seen firsthand how it can negative impact the lives of my relatives. 

Secondly I've never liked the idea of being out of control of my own body. Yes, yes I get it can help you relax and make things more enjoyable especially if you aren't drinking in excess but I still don't like the idea of anything messing around with my cognitive abilities. 

Third I'm rebelling against the norm. It's crazy how drinking is so popular not only in our culture and timeframe but throughout the whole world and throughout all generations. It's all but expected that a 21 year old would enjoy going to bars with friends or at least drink a glass of wine with dinner (if we're being sophisticated). When I tell people that I would rather take up the habit of smoking that drinking I get really weird looks. Not that I'm planning to start smoking but why is it that smoking is now looked down on in our society whereas alcohol is not? I get that smoking is linked to cancer but my interpretation is that the substance that alters your brain function should be viewed more negatively than the one that doesn't. 

Fourth it's expensive and I don't really want to be giving my money to an industry that could care less if it's ruining the lives of millions of people and contributing to an increase in crime and death rates. 

3. LBGTQ

One word. NO! I don't care if you're attracted to the same gender, if you're a man who feels like you should be a woman or a woman who feels like a man.  

Sometimes I feel like I should have naturally red hair. But I don't. I wasn't born with it and therefore I move on with my life.

 If you identify as LBGTQ I'm not going to bully you, make fun of you, or discriminate against you. I'll treat you like the normal human being that you are, but I don't think you should get special privileges and I don't think you should be promoting your homo, bi, trans, queer, whatever lifestyle. 

If you're wrestling with your gender, I'm sorry. I can imagine that's tough and I admit I've never experienced it myself. But just like the answer for people who want to be skinny is not found in starving themselves, so the answer for sexual orientation is not found in acting however you want to. Let's do away with these letters so you can stop being defined by them. You are valuable. You might still be figuring things out in your life and that's okay because so is everyone else even if it may not be related to gender. 

I have some more opinionated topics to write about but I'll save them for another day.