A Letter to the Supreme Court

Dear Supreme Court Judges,

Today, as you make a decision that will potentially change my life, please consider the following:

When I was 7 years old, I got a terrible haircut.  It was short and blunt.  I was tall and skinny as a child.  I had big feet (for my age) and crooked teeth.  My cheeks have always been a little too red and my skin a little too pale.  As a child, I longed for long flowing locks of hair, curled and tied back in a silk ribbon.  What I got was short and blunt.  I went to school the day after receiving this awful hair cut and a boy made fun of me. I came home and cried.  The next day, the same boy made fun of me again.  Again, I came home and cried. That silly haircut really hurt my heart for days.  Looking back, I wonder why that boy cared so much about my hair...I also wonder why I cared so much about that boy.  His thoughts didn't matter.  My hair was still short and his commentary wasn't making it grow faster.  I did let my hair grow out for a while and kept it long throughout high school.  This past year, I had it cut short again.  Why?  Because that boy doesn't matter.  Because 7 year old girls grow up.  Because my I like my hair short.  Because throughout life, everyone that mattered encouraged me to be myself.  They say, "be who you are.  Be what makes you happy."  I like myself.  I like who I am.  I grew up and I grew into me.  The words of that 7 year old boy are but a memory.  His idea of who I should be, well, it doesn't matter much anymore.  It shouldn't have ever mattered.  At 7 years old, it was devastating to hear that my differences made me undesirable.  Now, if your 7 year old daughter came home crying over being singled out because of her differences, I think you would actively and appropriately handle the situation.  You would tell your daughter that she is beautiful, just the way she is.  So, today, as you make this decision, consider our differences.  Consider what makes you different from those around you.  And picture yourself being singled out for that. Picture your family being singled out.  Allow me to get married.  Allow me to have my own family.  Because my differences are really not all that bad.  Because differences should be appreciated.  Because our country is based on the ability to FREELY be DIFFERENT.  Show us that you believe in our country.  Show us that you believe in our differences.

"I never considered a difference of opinion in politics, in religion, in philosophy, as cause for withdrawing from a friend."  -Thomas Jefferson

Sincerely,
Leah Bateman