Accept me

Was clearing some of my old stuff and came across this poster that I bought some 10 years back (just before I came out). I am still able to identify with the words as I did 10 years ago, although the context is slightly different... then, I was coming to terms with my own sexuality and the acceptance I felt I needed arose from the perception of rejection by everyone around me... this time round, it is more of my thoughts towards my organisation as well as my country. Having gone thru when I went thru last year, where I was outed by my security department and following that, put on all sorts of restrictions on my personal life, the words somehow resonate even more for me this time round. The poster reads:

Accept me

I am I
Do not change me
Condemn me
nor put me down
Accept me for what I am
No... you need not agreee with me
But accept me
for I am total in being
I have faults
I have my guilts
But that is who I am
Perfect I will never be
Allow me to be uninhibited
Do not pressure me into feeling
what I do not feel
Accept me when I am flying high
As I have accepted you when
you were flying high
Do not put me down... nor make
me feel unhappy about me
I am I
and I like being what I am

Me.

Larry S. Chenngges