I have a dream that one day this nation will one day hear my cry for acceptance. That this nation will stop breathing down my neck, stop holding me back, and let me live the life I want to lead. I have a dream that one day this nation will accept me no matter who loves me or who I love. I have a dream that one day this nation will accept me no matter who I am. 

I have a dream that once the moon rises, the tide pulls in, the waves settle, and the truth is told, that you will stay by my side. That no matter what is revealed when the building crumbles, when the ice melts, when the mask is ripped off, it does not change your mind on who I am. That my scales, my fur, my stains, scars, tears, wrinkles, aren’t seen as hideous or monsterous or gruesome or ghastly. That my truth isn’t something to gawk at, to parody, to ridicule. 

I have a dream that one day I’ll be able to scream my love from the top of a mountain, in the middle of a bustling city, in a meadow, a cave, a valley, where the echoes of my words will fly forever. A dream that one day, without guilt, I can say how you make me feel. A dream that one day, that I can hold you without looking over my shoulder. One day, one day I can show you the stars, the rivers, the world without shame, that no longer we would have to hide in solitude together. Forced into a constricting box, which gets smaller, and smaller the more we struggle. I want to move freely and live freely. 

I have a dream that my lover and I can breathe that same air, live the same life without the angered looks from others. A dream that no matter how people look, how people act, how people love, how people talk, how they may seem from the outside, that they are still looked at as human. That your empathy, compassion, respect, admiration, is not conditional. That you don’t only accept one, but all.

I have a dream today!!

I have a dream that one day not just I get to experience these joys of life, the wonders of living, but everyone who has ever felt excluded. That you look past all, and see the breaths they take, the steps they walk, the words they speak, the imagination in their mind. I have a dream that their humanity shines through their clothes, their skin, their blood, their bones. 

I have a dream today!!

I have a dream that one day, every day, whether a hurricane rakes through my house or a typhoon rips through yours, people will come together, help others, whether their ideals align or not. That regardless of who I am or who you are we can come together. 

This is my hope that people will follow from their children, that people aren’t born with the cruelty they hurl at others. That for children no amount of shades or lenses can conceal the intrinsic shine everyone has, for everyone is human. 

With this faith, we will be able to live. We will be able to love. We will be able to untie.

And this will be the day when I cry, but not out of sadness, anger, regret, guilt. It will be a cry of joy, of love.