Jimina Smith English 1101 Elliott 26 April 2014 Same Love For decades, there has been a constant

battle stirring for the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) Community. This fight is not only with people within the LGBT community but also within the hearts of every individual that identifies himself/herself as a lesbian, gay, bisexual, or is a transgender. Often, individuals judge and discriminate against the LGBT community, not knowing the effects their words and actions have on others. Jennifer Boylans In the Early Morning describes the past experiences in her life that eventually shaped her into the person that she is in the present. Although this short narrative is intended for members of the LGBT community, it could have a profound effect on a reader outside of her intended audience. Her purpose for this work is to inform and inspire people to pursue their dreams regardless of their trials using ethos and pathos. Due to her experiences, Boylan is able to give firsthand advice to people struggling with the same discrimination as she. Boylan allows readers to identify with her through being a transgender herself. Countless individuals within the LGBT Community go through the same traumatic and life changing situations as Boylan. These situations vary from accepting sexual orientation, to telling the people you care about, often opening up ones tolerance to being a sexual orientation besides heterosexual. And although there are some people that are able to bypass telling their families and friends, those conversations are commonly the cause of self-harm and even self-hate. This gives Boylan the credibility a heterosexual male or female could never possess. Along with her

extensive academic background, shes able to identify with someone who is experiencing the feelings felt during the transition that only one going through this transition, or one have gone through the transition, would truly understand and for this she is respected. Boylans story of traveling to Nova Scotia describes her journey of running away and having a new start by herself. In the end, she faces her fears and follows her heart by accepting her orientation and the negative thoughts that will come with it. Her thoughts allow the readers to empathize with her challenging situation because it is well known that suicides and hate-crimes are a major obstacle based solely on what a relationship really consists of. Even while others realize love should never have a gender preference and there shouldnt be any constraints placed upon this union, not everyone feels this way. Frequently, members of the LGBT Community rely on hope and faith that acceptance of other sexualities will improve. Boylan expresses this same faith in the quote I cant tell you how to get there from here. You have to figure that out for yourself. But I do know that instead of going off that cliff, I walked back down the mountain that morning and instead began the long, long journey toward home. Her hope inspires readers to never give up on what will bring you happiness because of adversaries and others opinions whom disagree with your decisions. There are people that will never bend their morals to conform to the standards set by our culture today, but this story proves that sometimes things have to be done because they are desired and not required. And when things get tough, you should not take the path with least resist; you have to push yourself to continue toward your goal. Regardless of your sexuality, the purpose of this narrative has proven that having the compassion and love of family member and friends, can lead to unexpected happiness.